Serpent's Kiss
by xxxheartlandxxx14
Summary: He glared at her, silver eyes glinting in the moonlight. "Just stay Cyn, please," He pleaded. She stared at him, gripping his shirt with frozen fingers. There was an explosion, showering them with dust and debris. "I love you," she whispered, letting go of his shirt reluctantly, knowing that this might be the last time that she would see him. Slight AU
1. Prologue

The European world had wizarding royalty – the Malfoys, Potters, Zabinis, and Weasleys to name a few. But America had its own royalty too – lesser known royalty for they weren't in the midst of a feud with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. American royalty consisted of the families like the Winters, Braithmores, and Wolfs to name a few. Unlike the Europeans, they did not really put much stock in the content of your blood. What mattered to them was talent.

Of course, most of the purebloods in America outshined Muggle-borns and the Muggles (No-Maj). America had several wizarding schools the most prominent of which was Ilvermorny, where the protagonist of this story, Cynthia (Cyn) Winters goes to school. A sixth year student, top of her class having finished off her courses with 11 Outstanding's. This year she had as usual a full schedule – but not at Ilvermorny. With a few relatives living in England, her parents had decided that the family would move there. So instead of going to Ilvermorny she would be going to Hogwarts. If you asked her if she was nervous, Cyn would deny that she was.

Something she had learned as a little girl was to never admit that you were afraid. Her classes weren't that difficult, she had reasoned. She was only taking seven – Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy, and Ancient Runes. The door to her room flew open and Farrah bounded in, red curls bouncing. Her eyes were wide with fright as she observed Cyn packing up her belongings.

She plopped on the bed, pouting at Cyn. "I can't believe that you're really going, that you're leaving me," she whined.

"Believe it." Cyn answered flatly. "I don't understand why we have to go – our relatives will be perfectly fine with or without us there. But, I've always wanted to travel abroad and Hogwarts is an exceptional school, or so I've heard."

"From who?" Farrah questioned. She waved her hand, "Whatever, it doesn't matter. Point is – you're leaving, and you were probably going to be made Head Girl or something of Ilvermorny. Why wouldn't you? You are the best student that Ilvermorny has or, rather had."

"You could have been made Head Girl too," Cyn pointed out. "You're phenomenal at Quidditch and you always helped out in the school – which is more than I ever did. I studied, you were actually helpful."

Farrah didn't answer, just stared at Cyn sadly. "So did you get your new wand yet?"

Cyn pursed her lips. Truth was, she hadn't even thought about getting a new wand or where she would get one. She did just fine at wandless magic but she did need one. Hers had broken after a duel in Defense Against the Dark Arts – one student had been too cruel and had snapped her wand in half. Fortunately even without the wand she had been able to win, but it hadn't been ideal.

"When are you leaving?" Farrah asked, tilting her head to the side after Cyn hadn't answered her question.

"Tonight." Cyn answered briskly.

The frown on Farrah's face deepened. Cyn shrugged, managing a small smile. Moving to England wasn't ideal especially as she was entering her sixth year, but she would make the best of it. At least she would try.

Leaving America that night was arguably the toughest thing that Cyn had ever done in her life. Saying goodbye to Farrah and Kyra was more difficult than she ever could have imagined. Julia Winters, rested a hand comfortingly on her daughter's shoulder and then they Apperated. The family appeared with a crack, in the countryside of England in front of a small cottage. Little wisps of smoke were curling out of the chimney, and Charles Winters grabbed their suitcases from the ground striding towards the cottage purposefully. After a moment mother and daughter followed after him.

Before they had even reached the door, it swung open revealing Irena Winters. She was the younger sister to Charles, but she appeared much older than he was. Her white hair, curled elegantly over her shoulders and her icy blue eyes brightened upon seeing them.

"Welcome," She exclaimed, holding the door open wider. "I'm so glad to see all of you. How was Ilvermorny, Cynthia?"

"Pleasant, and the classes were incredibly challenging." Cyn answered neutrally. "I'll miss it but I'm sure that Hogwarts will be just wonderful as well."

No one picked up on the slight sarcasm in her voice.

"Tomorrow we will go pick up your wands and books Cyn," Julia said.

Cyn nodded her head obediently. "I'm going to go head upstairs, Mom. I'll see you tomorrow."

She feigned a smile, as she grabbed her suitcase and walked towards her bedroom which rested on the second floor. She opened the door, the floor creaking slightly as she headed into the room. It looked just like it had when she was little – dark gray walls and black and silver blankets lay on the bed. In the wall opposite the bed were clustered three bookshelves and on one wall was a map of Ilvermorny and below that was a much smaller map of England. Cyn set her suitcase down with a thunk. She headed over to the bed, curling up in the middle underneath the covers.

 _So this is home_ , she thought morosely closing her eyes.


	2. Chapter One

Dawn came earlier than Cyn would have expected, and she sat up groaning and rubbing at her eyes. Her door was cracked open and her mother peeked her head in, brown eyes kind.

"Come on Cyn, get dressed. We have to go to Diagon Alley," her mother commented.

Cyn groaned, moving to pull the covers over her head. Julia waved her wand and the covers were yanked away from Cyn and into a nice neat pile in her mother's arms. After a stern look from her mother, Cyn reluctantly crawled out of bed. She dressed slowly, putting on a black pleated skirt and a white collared shirt. She brushed through her ebony locks, pinning them into an elegant braided bun at the top of her head and slipped on a nice pair of heels. She headed to the closet, pleased to see that all of her cloaks had been placed in there already.

She grabbed her favorite cloak – when made of unicorn hair and clasped it around her shoulders. She hurried downstairs, unsurprised to find her mother waiting by the front door. Joining hands they Apparated away, appearing in the middle of Diagon Alley. No one gave them a glance at their sudden appearance except for, Cyn noted, a family of redheads. She glanced at them, eyeing their clothes which were either homemade or very cheap. Julia cleared her throat and Cyn whipped around hurrying after her mother.

The two walked slowly into Ollivander's, and Cyn clasped her hands together in trepidation. She felt so odd going into a wand shop when she was a sixth year and already should have a wand. The man behind the desk was old and seemed kind as he gave them a smile.

"Are you Ollivander?" Julia asked without preamble. Almost shyly, the man nodded his head. "My daughter needs a new wand – hers broke at school."

"Come closer dear," Ollivander told Cyn. He handed her a wand. "Cypress wood, phoenix feather, twelve inches, swishy." Cyn waved the wand and something exploded. "No, not that one then. How about this one?"

Wand, after wand, after wand she tried and yet nothing had seemed to work. Ollivander looked hesitantly toward the back. With a muffled sentence he disappeared, only to come back with a dusty box which held one of the most elegantly carved wands that Cyn had ever seen. She gasped, reaching out to grab it and her eyes went wide as a warm feeling entered her body. All of the glass that had shattered when she had tried new wands repaired itself without her having to do anything and she knew instantly that this was it. This was her wand.

"Elder wood, dragon heartstring, sturdy, 9 ½ inches." Ollivander murmured seeming like he was in a trance. "Very few wands have been made from elder wood as such they are extremely rare. Those with elder wood are often marked for a special destiny."

That was all he said on the matter. They paid for the wand and headed out of the shop. Cyn tucked her wand into the sleeve of her cloak, following her mother to Flourish and Blott's to buy her school books. Inside of the bookstore was the redheaded family, along with a boy with glasses and a scar, and a girl with hideously curly hair.

"Are you Harry Potter?" Cyn asked, narrowing her eyes at him and looking at the scar.

His pale face flushed scarlet and he nodded. She pursed her lips, staring at him a little more before Julia cleared her throat.

"Come along Cyn, there will be time to gawk at the Chosen One later," Julia reprimanded.

"Of course Mom," Cyn readily agreed, "my apologies."

"You are taking seven N.E.W.T. level classes Cyn," Julia reminded her daughter. "You must keep your grades up."

Cyn nodded her head obediently. Behind her she could hear an exclamation of "Seven N.E.W.T.S.!? But they only allow a maximum of five!" and she rolled her eyes. True, usually students were only allowed a maximum of five – and that was even with special consideration – but the Winters name still retained a fair amount of power, and by looking at her past grades it was easy to see that Cyn wouldn't fall behind. In preparation for moving to England and taking seven N.E.W.T. level classes, she had read through all of her other books memorizing the theory and practicing. After having bought her books the twosome wandered around Diagon Alley.

Cyn was left in awe by how different it was from America, and she couldn't believe how few people there were in Diagon Alley. When they passed several Wanted posters, warning about Death Eaters, Cyn realized why. She bumped into someone and the parcels that she was carrying dropped to the ground.

"I'm sorry!" She squeaked, flushing. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

Julia waved her wand and the parcels floated in the air beside her. "Honestly Cyn," she sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry." Cyn apologized once again, peering at the boy whom she had bumped into.

He was attractive, she admitted. Pale hair, equally as pale skin and silvery eyes. The woman next to him was also pretty, and Cyn noticed many striking similarities between the two of them. Both people were staring at her with no expression on their face, although Cyn thought she saw something flicker in the boy's eyes for a moment.

"I'm sorry." She apologized once more, "I'm usually not so clumsy but I've never been to Diagon Alley before."

"You haven't?" The woman inquired sharply. "Muggle-born?"

"Heavens no!" both Julia and Cyn gasped. Cyn elaborated, "I used to attend a wizarding school in America, and we only recently moved to Europe. Father used to go to Hogwarts, didn't he?" Julia nodded. "Yes, so he decided that it was about time that I come to Hogwarts. We have family living here too." She smiled brightly.

"Your father?" The woman inquired. "What is his name?"

"Charles Winters the third, Order of Merlin Third Class." Cyn recited. "When he was in school he won a Dueling Trophy, and the Quidditch House Cup."

"I know your father. A pureblood isn't he?" The woman asked. Cyn nodded. "And your mother?" Another nod. "I'm Narcissa Malfoy, this is my son Draco. Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure as well," Cyn returned cordially.

"What house do you think you'll be in?" Draco finally spoke and Cyn was a little surprised to find that his voice was slightly husky.

"What houses are there?" She asked, a small smile gracing her face.

"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." It was clear from the pride in his voice when he said the last House, that he was a Slytherin.

"Hm…At Ilvermorny I was in Horned Serpent – it was the house that favored scholars. But three of the four Houses had chosen me, so I guess it's a tossup?" Cyn tried with a sheepish smile.

"Pity." Draco frowned. "Slytherin would be a good fit for you."

Cyn didn't answer, but a part of her felt thrilled that he thought so. She didn't know why, but a part of her craved his attention and approval. Banishing those thoughts, Cyn pulled the hood of her cloak up, so that it concealed her face.

"It was nice to meet you." Cyn said. "And…I hope that I see you at Hogwarts."

Then they Disapparated back to the cottage. Without saying a word to her mother, Cyn headed upstairs to her room. She grabbed a book about wandmaking and pulled it off of the shelf. She wanted to know what the properties of her wand meant – she didn't believe Ollivander when he had said that elder wood meant that she had a "special density". She was the least special person in the world – she wasn't very smart, she'd consider herself average and she wasn't extraordinarily beautiful either. She'd say that she was pretty, and cute in a doll-like way but she wasn't drop-dead gorgeous like Farrah or Kyra had been.

 **Elder**

 _The rarest wand wood of all, and reputed to be deeply unlucky, the elder wand is trickier to master than any other. It contains powerful magic, but scorns to remain with any owner who is not the superior of his or her company; it takes a remarkable wizard to keep the elder wand for any length of time. The old superstition, 'wand of elder, never prosper,' has its basis in this fear of the wand, but in fact, the superstition is baseless, and those foolish wandmakers who refuse to work with elder do so more because they doubt they will be able to sell their products than from fear of working with this wood. The truth is that only a highly unusual person will find their perfect match in elder, and on the rare occasion when such a pairing occurs, I take it as certain that the witch or wizard in question is marked out for a special destiny. An additional fact that I have unearthed during my long years of study is that the owners of elder wands almost always feel a powerful affinity with those chosen by rowan._

 **Dragon heartstring** _  
_ _Dragon heartstring is a powerful wand with a lot of magical "heft". It is not the core you want for subtlety, but for sheer power it is definitely the best. Although it is the most common core among Dark Wizards, Dark Wizards are most certainly not their most common users. Dragon heartstrings are by far the most common wand core amongst Slytherins, but their power often bonds to Gryffindors and Ravenclaws as well. However, they tend to overwhelm the archetypal Hufflepuff personality._

Cyn closed the book with a snap. Apparently Ollivander hadn't been lying or embellishing – elder wood was rare and it typically meant that the witch or wizard was marked for a special destiny. Cyn shuddered to think what kind of destiny Fate had in mind.


	3. Chapter Two

Before she knew it, the beginning of the school year was imminent. Since the run in at Diagon Alley Cyn hadn't seen Draco or Narcissa. Standing on Platform 9 ¾ she was hoping that she would run into them sooner or later – she had quite liked talking to them. Julia handed Cyn her suitcases, and her owl and Charles rested a hand on her shoulder. He bent down, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead.

"Have a good year at Hogwarts Cyn," Charles wished her.

 _Not likely_ , she thought. Just as quickly she dismissed the pessimistic thoughts. She'd do her best to have a good year at this new school. Entering into the school year with a bad attitude would set the tone for the rest of the year. So she only needed to be positive. Cyn stepped onto the trainer, nearly getting run over by a gaggle of redheads as they ran to find an open compartment. Shaking her head, Cyn shouldered her way past a cluster of first years and headed into one of the first rooms that she saw. She shut the door, setting her suitcases on the floor underneath her.

"Well hello," Someone said.

Cyn jumped, having not noticed that anyone was there. She looked to her left and felt her cheeks flush when she saw who it was – Draco Malfoy. Sitting across from him on the other side of the room were two rather large boys, who didn't appear very smart, a girl with a squished face, and a rather handsome boy with dark skin and dark eyes that glimmered with mischief.

"Hello Draco." Cyn returned cordially. She arched her eyebrows. "Fancy seeing you here."

He snorted, gray eyes twinkling with amusement. "Yes, I'm sure that it's utterly surprising to see me on a train bound for Hogwarts, where I go to school," he drawled. The pug-faced girl cleared her throat rather obnoxiously and Draco rolled his eyes. "Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and Blaise Zabini." He gestured to them as he said their names.

"Charmed," Pansy smiled falsely.

"Cyn Winters, pleasure." Cyn narrowed her eyes at Parkinson. "Pureblood I would assume. All of you?" They nodded. "Interesting – I'd expect a pureblood to behave with more decorum."

"Oh God you're sounding like my mother," Draco intervened.

Cyn looked to him, green eyes glinting like ice. "Oh really? What'd you do?"

"Nothing to concern yourself with Winters," Draco sneered although there was no real bite in his words. He sighed. "We're all nearing marrying age and needless to say my parents are both less than impressed with my antics."

"Isn't your father in Azkaban?" Pansy questioned, and Draco tensed like a coiled spring, turning baleful silver eyes to the girl. Parkinson flinched back.

"Hm, my parents say the same thing although it's not because I'm nearing marrying age." Cyn murmured thoughtfully. "With high aspirations and because I'm nearly an adult, my parents too have grown weary of my whimsical nature and habit of causing trouble."

"English please." Draco said. "These idiots can't seem to comprehend words that are larger than three syllables."

"I'll have you know that I'm not an idiot," Blaise snapped. "Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson, sure. But I'm not, keep that in mind."

"My apologies." Draco answered.

Cyn rolled her eyes and dug through her messenger bag, producing several different books including _Academic Sorcery_ by Elythia Winters, _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ by Newt Scamander, and _The Complete Guide to Healing_ by Wesley Vermance. She had yet to decide what she wanted to do with her life but so far she had decided that she wanted to do something with either magical creatures or healing. Being an Auror was not a career for her, and she couldn't break a curse to save her life.

"Are you a nerd or something?" Blaise spoke up, tilting his head to the side and watching her as she opened up the book by Elythia Winters – a distant relative of hers – and she scowled at him.

"No but I do like to be well-informed." Cyn shot back and then flushed because she did sound like a nerd. "I'm not a nerd," she almost whined but caught herself.

Winters don't whine. Y _ou're a pureblood, Cynthia Elysia Winters and purebloods don't whine_ , her grandmother had once said to her. _We take what we want. But under no circumstances do we ever whine._ That was a lesson that she would carry with her for the rest of her life. While in America, people didn't care about blood status as much, that didn't mean that they didn't uphold old pureblood traditions.

"If you're as studious as you seem right now, you'll end up in Ravenclaw." Draco spoke up.

Cyn wrinkled her nose. "From what I've read, I'd rather be in Slytherin. Hufflepuff seems too boring, Ravenclaw is too studious, and Gryffindors are too self-righteous." Both boys looked at her in surprise. "Yes I've heard that many Dark Wizards have come from Slytherin, but bad people can come just as easily from Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Even Hufflepuff. Slytherin has just earned the stigma that only bad people are sorted into their house, when bad people can be sorted into any house."

"You know," Blaise spoke up sounding amazed, "she makes a very good point."

"That she does." Draco agreed. He smirked, "But it's hard to fight against all the data. Most people who end up being evil come from Slytherin."

"Hush." Cyn insisted.

Cyn shifted nervously in front of the Great Hall. Professor Minerva McGonagall had yet to let them enter and it was making her nervous. She was one of Hogwarts's first transfer students and because of that there was going to be a lot of attention on her. Finally the doors flew open and McGonagall strode forward, indicating for Cyn and the first years to follow her.

"First to be Sorted is our transfer student, Cynthia Winters who will be a sixth year. Previously she went to Ilvermorny in America."Albus Dumbledore spoke, a twinkle in his eye as he looked at Cyn. "Come along Ms. Winters."

Cyn stepped forward, her slightly big robe trailing on the ground. She hopped up onto the stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on her head.

 _"Hmmm…."_ The Hat mused. _"Where to put you? Certainly not Hufflepuff, you aren't compassionate enough and definitely not Gryffindor because you think that they're too pretentious and you aren't selfless enough. That leaves Slytherin and Ravenclaw. You're certainly ambitious enough for Slytherin and you're smart enough for Ravenclaw; so where should I put you?"_

Cyn held her breath as the Sorting Hat silently debated with himself.

Finally after what felt like an eternity the Sorting Hat came to a decision. **_"SLYTHERIN!"_** the Hat boomed.

The other houses clapped politely, but Slytherin cheered the loudest. Cyn yanked the Hat off of her head and hopped off of the stool. She scurried towards the Slytherin table, collapsing into the seat next to Draco and across from a stunning dark-haired girl with silver eyes.

"Verity Black, pleasure to meet you." The girl said with a kind smile. "I'm Draco's cousin."

Looking between the two Cyn decided that she could see a few similarities, but she never would have connected the dots herself.

"Cyn Winters," She said in return with a shy smile. "What year are you?"

"Fifth," Verity scowled. "Certainly smart enough to be a sixth year though; I mean look at Crabbe and Goyle. It's a wonder they even passed their O.W.L.'s."

"Verity do be nice and practice some sense of decorum." Draco mocked, ducking when she threw a piece of apple crisp at him. "Hey now Verity, whatever would your mother say if she saw you now?"

Verity's pale face flushed scarlet and she glared at her cousin. "I'm certain that she'd think that I'm doing the whole world a favor by humiliating you and preventing you procreating."

"Hush now child," Draco patronized. "Verity's been cranky lately, I don't know. Maybe because she broke up with her boyfriend?"

"It was a mutual break up!" Verity nearly shrieked, gaining a few curious looks from the other Houses.

"Who was her boyfriend?" Cyn inquired curiously, watching Verity closely.

She mumbled something that Cyn couldn't quite catch. She looked over at Draco in confusion and was surprised to see him looking at his cousin with some amount of affection and pity. Though she hadn't known Draco for very long, Cyn had discerned that he wasn't very open with his emotions and quite often he took only his own feelings to account. To see him looking at his cousin with such fondness was a little surprising.

"A blood traitor." Blaise Zabini spoke up from Verity's side. "Fred Weasley, correct?"

Verity nodded.

"She's lucky that she didn't get blasted off of the Black family tree." Draco muttered, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. "Malfoys and Blacks do not associate with the Weasley family. Slytherins as a whole don't associate with blood traitors. That includes you too Cyn."

She nodded. _What had she gotten herself into_ , she wondered.


	4. Chapter Three

"Flipendo," Cyn said rather lazily and Ron Weasley was blasted backwards.

Apparently, Lockheart one of their old teachers had instituted a dueling club, but after he left it was just tossed aside. With the rise in Dark activity Dumbledore had said that maybe a dueling club would be a benefit, but only fifth, sixth and seventh years could participate. Ron shot a hex at her and with a flick of her wrist, it was blocked. Cyn was utterly bored with the whole dueling club, the Weasley boy wasn't even a match for her – not really. Draco or even Blaise would be tougher opponents but Dumbledore had insisted that people in the same house could not battle each other.

 _Levicorpus_ , Cyn thought and Weasley was yanked into the air by his ankle. His face quickly turned red and Cyn hit him with a quick stunning spell effectively putting him out for the count.

"Excellent use of nonverbal spellcasting Miss Winters," Professor Snape drawled, "20 points to Slytherin. And Mister Weasley, 20 points from Gryffindor for not putting up a decent fight. Granger, you've immobilized your partner come duel with Miss Winters for a few minutes."

The curly-haired girl, a friend of Weasley's and Potter's headed over, clutching her wand nervously. "You've dueled before haven't you?" The Granger girl asked trying to infuse some sort of bravado into her voice as she launched a stunning spell at Cyn who quickly sidestepped.

"Yes, that's what we did at Ilvermorny." Cyn said. _Obscuro_ , she thought.

A blindfold came out of nowhere, appearing over the Granger girl's eyes. Just as she was prepared to launch a stunning spell or immobilize her Granger had undone the spell and had launched a hex at her. The two dueled fiercely, but to most onlookers it was clear that Cyn had the upper hand. Hermione Granger was smart – there was no denying that – but she didn't have the same dueling experience that Cyn had, and Hermione verbalized her spells while Cyn didn't.

 _Stupefy_ , Cyn thought with a flick of her wand.

The red light hit Hermione, whose eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell to the ground unconscious.

"Very good, ten points to Slytherin. Thank you for the exciting duel," Snape said. "Now I would like a ten page essay about the Dark Arts tomorrow. Dismissed."

Cyn tucked her wand into the sleeve of her robe and followed Draco and Blaise out of the Great Hall. With no classes for the rest of the day, they headed to the library – Snape had just assigned them a huge ton of DADA homework, and Cyn had a good chunk of homework for Ancient Runes and Transfiguration as well.

"That was great how you effortlessly defeated Weasel and Granger," Draco said a huge smile on his face as they headed up the staircases.

"It wasn't like they were a challenge; they haven't mastered nonverbal spell use it seems." Cyn shot back, not even bothering to try and be modest. A lot of people had high expectations about the Golden Trio and it had felt good to knock them down a peg – at least 2/3's of the Golden Trio, she supposed.

"Still it was quite excellent," Blaise agreed with Draco.

Cyn waved away their praises as they entered the library. She fidgeted, with her green Slytherin tie as she headed over to the bookcases, trying to find something that would help with Snape's essay and McGonagall's essay. Draco and Blaise moved to different parts of the library each trying to find something to write about for their own essays. The school year had just started and already they were swamped with homework. So far the only teacher who hadn't assigned homework was Flitwick and Slughorn.

And it was only a week into the school year!

Cyn grabbed a book about the Dark Arts off of the shelf and headed over to a table. Blaise was already leaning back in a chair, holding a book extremely close to his face. Draco plopped down into the seat next to her. It was amazing how quickly the three of them had clicked. Cyn was studious and helped to balance out Draco's and Blaise's attitudes, Blaise was a notorious womanizer but Cyn made sure that he never went too far, and Draco more often than not was a right prat but Blaise and Cyn both managed to keep him in line. They had met at the start of the school year and only a week later, they were nearly inseparable. It was a little crazy that they were so close already, but Cyn was grateful that she had already made two great friends.

Draco kicked the legs of Blaise's chair sending him off balance and resulting in him tumbling to the floor. Cyn clapped a hand over her mouth trying to hand her giggles as Blaise climbed to his feet, a murderous glare on his face as he stared at Draco.

"Cyn, be a dear and hex Draco for me will you?" Blaise hissed, "I think I have to go see Madam Pomfrey you git."

Draco shrugged unapologetically. "Whoops, sorry mate my foot slipped."

Blaise didn't answer, just glared at Draco before stalking out of the library with Madam Pince glaring at him as he did so.

"Honestly," Cyn sighed shaking her head. "Couldn't you be a little nicer to him?"

"He's my best friend; I'm supposed to be mean to him." Draco answered with a smile.

This was a moment that Cyn would remember in later months, because this was one of the last times where she had seen such a carefree look in his eyes and such an easygoing smile on his face. Even now in the current moment, Cyn decided that she rather liked his smile. It wasn't something that she got to see very often – around other Slytherins he always had a tough bad guy persona and around all the other Houses he was a git (to put it simply).

"Suppose you should go check on him?" Cyn questioned, flipping the page in her book.

"No," Draco said. "I'm sure that he'll be perfectly fine. Now, don't we have an essay to work on?"

Cyn sighed, waving her wand and writing supplies appeared in front of them. She stared at the book in front of her and after a moment of hesitation dipped her quill in the inkwell.

 _'In the wizarding world there are several spells that can be classified as incredibly "Dark" such as the Crucio curse, Imperius curse, and the killing spell Avada Kedavra. But unknown to others there are just as equally terrible spells; they are just not very well-known. These spells include Lacero, Sopor Nox, and Incisura. Lacero is a spell that is relatively unknown, but among those who know of the spell it has been given an awful reptutation and for good reason._

 _Lacero when used causes the victim to be cut deeply on the chest, near major arteries if the aim is well and true.'_

Cyn went on in her essay to describe what exactly made Lacero made a Dark spell, and then describe Sopor Nox and Incisura. In her final concluding paragraph she explained the Dark Arts, and listed why the spells she had talked about in her essay could be labelled as Dark. She also emphasized the need for educating people on the Dark Arts, and on why the list of Unforgiveables needed to be expanded to include spells such as Lacero, Sopor Nox (a spell that would put someone in a vegetative state) and Incisura. Cyn set her quill down on the table, flexing her hand.

"Done?" Draco asked, looking at her a touch of amusement in his eyes. Cyn nodded. "About bloody time," he grumbled standing up.

"Hush," Cyn said getting to her feet. She grabbed her school books and followed Draco out of the library. "Think we ought to go and check on Blaise?"

Draco pursed his lips. "I suppose we could."

The walk to the Hospital Wing was quiet between the two of them, but by no means did it feel awkward. From what little she knew of Draco, Cyn knew that he was naturally a quiet person. And Cyn herself, was also quiet. Her thoughts were swirling about everything that had happened since arriving in England; meeting Narcissa and Draco, going to Hogwarts, and most of all dueling. When she had dueled Granger and Weasley, she hadn't really been trying and she hadn't been at top form.

Draco pushed open the doors and Cyn waved shyly at Blaise as they walked in.

"How are you?" Cyn asked, "Did you break something?"

"Only a rib," Blaise narrowed his eyes in a glare at Draco. "I've only ever gotten injured in Quidditch, and first week of school my best mate breaks one of my ribs."

Draco didn't answer, although he looked slightly apologetic. "Well, you'll be fine." Cyn smiled, "It's only a broken rib, after all. Nothing too serious."

Blaise gaped, looking at Cyn like she was crazy. " _Only_ a broken rib?"

"Well when playing Quidditch you can get much more serious injuries like a cracked skull, and while a broken rib hurts like hell it isn't like it will be actively detrimental to your daily life. Uncomfortable and a little painful yes, but you'll survive." Cyn said.

Blaise turned to Draco. "Did you understand any word that just came out of her mouth?"

"Yes." Draco drawled, "She's saying that you're being a big baby so quit whining."

"I'm not!" Cyn flushed. "Well…maybe a little?"

"Cynthia Winters you have wounded me deeply," Blaise cried, glaring at her. "I am not being a big baby!"

Cyn didn't reply, just rolled her eyes. She turned to Draco, "Can you help me catch up on Potions, Draco? It's a subject that I don't really excel in and with Potter being Slughorn's favorite, I suppose I need to catch up and do well enough."

Draco nodded, and with one last parting wave to Blaise they left him alone in the Hospital Wing.

After Draco had finished tutoring her in Potions, Cyn had finished the last of her homework and headed to the Owlery, to write a letter to her parents. She had a lot to tell them – starting from how wonderful Hogwarts had been so far. Hearing that would please her father greatly, although that wasn't why Cyn was going to say it.

 _Dear Mom and Dad,_

 _To my great and utter surprise I find that I don't hate Hogwarts like I thought I would. In fact, Hogwarts really isn't all that bad. I've been sorted into Slytherin, and already have made a few friends consisting of Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. The both of them are purebloods, as is most of Slytherin house with a few half-bloods here and there. Classes have been absolutely horrendous, with a lot of homework being assigned but I have not fallen behind – I am doing well in all classes excepting Potions of course, which is definitely one of my weaknesses._

 _But Draco has been kind enough to offer me his help – but that isn't why I'm writing to you. Hogwarts has a dueling club, and I have excelled in it (even though there has been only one duel). The Quidditch season is due to start soon, but of course I won't be playing. I am abysmal on a broom, and you both know this already._

 _How is Aunt Irena?_

 _Write back to me as soon as you can Mom, I'm anxious to hear from you._

 _~ Cyn_

Cyn whistled, calling her owl to her side and sent her away with the letter. She watched her owl go for a few moments before heading back to the Slytherin dormitory. As much as she liked Draco and Blaise, she needed female friends. Tomorrow that was what she was going to do – after Ancient Runes.


	5. Chapter Four

Cyn sighed, resting her head on the table in the Great Hall. It was mealtime, and she had spent the majority of the meal struggling with Ancient Runes. At Ilvermorny she had understood it – with the help of a tutor – but here, it was infinitely more difficult. For the life of her, Cyn couldn't understand why! Ancient Runes was Ancient Runes no matter where you went to school, but she was still struggling. The scent of perfume invaded her nostrils and Cyn looked to the left, smiling a little when she saw that Verity had taken a seat next to her.

"You're doing it wrong," Verity announced, grabbing Cyn's parchment and scribbling out her answers. "Honestly didn't you read _Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms_ or _Advanced Rune Translation_? That's the Unknown Symbol, which means seven but you put three. Three looks like a Runespoor. When you took the Ancient Runes O.W.L. what'd you get?"

"Exceeds Expectations," Cyn answered after a moment of hesitation.

"Really?" Verity looked a little surprised. "But you're struggling with even the basic of concepts; whatever it's not my business just fix it!"

Cyn slowly took the parchment from her, and slowly began filling in the answers. She glanced at Verity every now and then who was watching her closely. After a few minutes of filling in answers, Verity snatched the parchment from Cyn, reading it over with a critical eye.

"Much better." Verity sniffed, handing it back to Cyn. "I'll help you with it later." She grabbed a brownie from the plate just before all of the food disappeared. "Where's Draco?"

Cyn shrugged, shoving the parchment into her Ancient Runes textbook. "Probably off with Blaise somewhere. Or Crabbe and Goyle." Cyn finally answered, stuffing her Ancient Runes things into her messenger bag. "Hey, the night of the Sorting, Draco was there but he didn't get off the train with us. What do you think happened?"

Verity smiled. "I don't know but whatever happened, Potter earned a bloody nose from it."

"Interesting," Cyn mused.

Neris swooped down from the sky, dropping a letter in front of Cyn. She picked it, staring at the paper intently.

 _Dear Cynthia Elysia Winters,_

 _Good evening. Or will it be morning by the time this letter reaches you? You know what, it doesn't matter. How are you, Cyn? (In case you couldn't guess this is Farrah and Kyra writing to you). Ilvermorny has just started back up again, and a lot of this have happened so far. Firstly, Kyra has a boyfriend in the form of Grayson Braithmore. We both know what you're thinking, "He's a bad influence" – and you're right he is, or rather was. Since dating Kyra he's seemed to change a little. One would have thought that he would have matured last year, when he was a sixth year but he hadn't – somehow though, meeting Kyra changed that._

 _Second, Kyra is playing Quidditch which you could have guessed but she's also become Quidditch Captain and trials for Horned Serpent are starting tomorrow. We've had some great third years express interest in Quidditch including Lyric Wolf, Brynn Braithmore, and Sarah Chambers (a muggle-born). Brynn is trying out for Seeker, and the other two are going to be Chasers. The only reason I'm talking about them is because, Kyra and I have kind of taken them under our wings so to speak. They are young, and they need someone to look up to – someone who is actually a good influence and Kyra and I fit the bill. Don't you remember when we were third years?_

 _We had no one, until Freya Braithmore (why does Ilvermorny have so many Braithmores!?) took us under her wing and helped us to grow into the people that we are today. That's why Kyra and I have taken those three third years under our wings. But enough about that how is Hogwarts? Is it as terrible as you thought or is it absolutely wonderful? I need to know, and so does Kyra. Or she'd like to if she wasn't busy making out with Grayson every damn minute._

 _Write to me soon, I miss you Cyn._

 _Love your bestest friend in the whole wide world,_

 _Farrah_

Cyn smiled a little. The letter sounded exactly like Farrah – jumping from one idea to the next, and rambling just a little bit. Cyn tucked the letter into the pocket of her robes, deciding that she would write Farrah back later. She gathered her stuff, standing up and looked at Verity.

"Care to come with me to the library? Snape assigned us another essay, and I badly need to work on it." Cyn asked.

Verity frowned, standing up. "I have my first class with Snape tomorrow, and by that I mean the first dueling club. Could you help me with that first? I've never dueled before, and I don't want to make a huge fool of myself especially in front of a bunch of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. I'm a Black and I'm a Slytherin – I have to be amazing in everything that I do."

"Because you're a pureblood," Cyn said as the two walked out of the Great Hall together. "I understand the pressure – Ilvermorny has a lot of pureblood families that go there. The Braithmores, Wolfs, and Winters to name a few. Because of the prestige attached to our names there is a lot of pressure to do well and to prove that it's not only our last name that makes us special."

Verity nodded. "Exactly! There's this exorbitant amount of pressure to do well and to do better than the Muggle-borns. There's just so much pressure to be the best." Verity yanked a door to an old classroom open and the two slipped inside. "But I've never been very good at Defense Against the Dark Arts, not like the stupid Gryffindors do."

"Well tomorrow you'll go in there and you'll outshine all of the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs." Cyn smiled, slipping her wand into her hand. "First things first, get a master on nonverbal spellcasting. That's how I beat Granger and Weasley; and their reflexes are terrible. That's also something you'll have to work on. With dueling, it's best to just let your instincts guide you don't overthink it."

Verity nodded absorbing Cyn's words. Cyn twirled her wand in her hand, thinking about what she wanted to say next. She had never been good at teaching others to do things, and she was afraid that she wouldn't do a good job and then Verity would be humiliated. She sighed. Really the only way that Verity could get better at dueling was to practice it.

"Your best friend is always _Protego_ , the shield spell." Cyn said and then launched a stunning spell at Verity who screeched, hurriedly getting her own wand out and casting the spell that Cyn had just mentioned. The Stupefy Cyn had cast rebounded and Cyn ducked to the side. The wall behind Cyn cracked. "See?"

"What the bloody hell was that!?" Verity screeched, staring at Cyn like she had two heads.

"Teaching you how to duel. Your opponent won't tell you when they are going to cast a spell, they'll just do it and experienced duelers won't verbalize their spells, they'll just think them." Cyn told her.

"Okay I guess that makes sense," Verity grudgingly admitted.

Cyn just smiled and cast another spell at Verity. The two dueled back and forth for what felt like hours – but in reality it was only a few minutes. They stopped, took a breather and then started to duel again. With each minute that passed Cyn could see that Verity was greatly improving. Cyn cast one last spell at Verity who ducked, letting it smash into the wall behind her. She grinned, tucking her wand back into the sleeves of her robes.

"Good job Verity," Cyn told the panting witch. "You've improved just a little bit."

Verity scowled, but couldn't hide the prideful smile from Cyn. The elder witch stooped down grabbing her messenger bag from the floor and followed Verity out of the abandoned – and now ruined – classroom.

"So Hogsmeade is tomorrow right?" Cyn asked once they arrived in the Slytherin Common Room.

"Yeah," Verity answered after a beat of silence. "Have you ever been?" Cyn gave her a flat look. "Right stupid question, you just started living in England. Are you excited to go then?"

"Kind of," Cyn hedged. "In America everything is big, and embellished. It's very…loud and in your face. From what I've heard Hogsmeade sounds more quaint."

Verity nodded excitedly. "Trust me it is. You'll love it; we should go to Honeydukes first thing. I am in serious need of Chocolate Frogs." She looked at Cyn, "You have had those right?"

"Of course," Cyn answered looking affronted.

"Just checking," Verity raised her hands in defense. "Parseltongue," Verity said to the door emblazoned with a snake.

It swung open revealing the Slytherin Common Room which lay beneath the Black Lake. The Common Room was full of bright emerald greens and more muted shades of the green, with a healthy amount of black decorating the room as well. In the center of the room there were a multitude of couches and chairs – the other Houses didn't know it but the Slytherins had the largest Common Room. Verity and Cyn headed over to one of the couches; with Verity practically face planting into the couch once she was close enough.

Cyn dropped her satchel, sitting more elegantly on the couch than Verity had.

"Where were you two? It's almost curfew," A familiar voice drawled into Cyn's ear.

She jumped and turned around, to see Draco's silver eyes staring back at her curiosity glimmering. "We were," Cyn fumbled for an excuse, "studying. She needs help with Potions and I need help with Transfiguration."

"Liar. Potions is Verity's best subject," Draco answered.

Cyn huffed, "None of your business then."

After a few minutes Cyn headed up to the girl's dormitory, changed into her night clothes and curled up on her bed. _I could get used to this_ , Cyn thought happily falling asleep with a smile on her face.


	6. Chapter Five

The quintet headed to The Three Broomsticks first and Draco had yet to let go of her hand. They took one of the only unoccupied booths and Cyn rested her chin in her hand, observing Makayla. From what she could see the girl seemed nice enough, perhaps a little shy but underneath that Cyn was sure that Makayla was a force to be reckoned with. Verity flopped into the seat beside Blaise, grinning her cheeks pink and her eyes bright with mirth.

"How'd your dueling go?" Cyn asked Verity.

"Great!" Verity chirped. "I beat my opponents – it took a little while but I still won, and I got us twenty House points too. Makayla didn't fare so well."

Makayla flushed ducking her head. "I've told you before Verity that I feel uncomfortable dueling. I can't think quickly, I like to analyze choices and respond accordingly to the stimuli presented."

"Are you sure you're not supposed to be in Ravenclaw?" Blaise questioned her.

Makayla's flush deepened. She didn't answer. Cyn quickly changed the subject to something less touchy, like Potions and Apparition. At the word Apparition, Blaise and Draco groaned. Cyn and Verity snickered at the looks on their faces. When Cyn asked them why they didn't want to learn how to Apparate, the two explained that it was because it seemed very disorienting and confusing. Cyn acknowledged that it did make sense – the first time that she had Apparated alongside her mother, she was terrified. It felt like parts of her were being squeezed and when they had finally arrived at their destination, the world had spun around her and Cyn vomited onto the ground.

Their worries weren't unfounded – Apparition was very disorienting and most didn't react well to it. But she found it a little humorous that the two most popular guys in Slytherin looked absolutely terrified to Apparate. Cyn took a sip of her butterbeer, eyes glimmering with amusement as Blaise vehemently denied being afraid to Apparate.

 _Yeah right,_ she thought.

"Apparating isn't that bad," Cyn spoke up, taking another sip of her butterbeer, "but side-along Apparition is the worst." She frowned.

"Really?" Verity asked intrigued.

Cyn nodded emphatically. "Undoubtedly, side-along Apparition is awful. I remember the first time that I did it; it wasn't pretty." She shuddered.

"Hence why I will never Apparate," Draco declared, resting his elbows on the table.

"Aw come on Dray, don't be a chicken." Verity goaded him. She smiled, "You'll Apparate, and then you'll find that you love it."

Draco shook his head and with a sigh Verity rolled her eyes. Cyn found that she was inclined to agree with Verity – right now Draco may say that he loathes the idea of Apparating and will never like it, but she had this feeling that with time he would come to love it. Her first side-along Apparition had been terrible, but after that Cyn found that her intense dislike over Apparating had faded and she began to anticipate Apparating. She couldn't wait until she could Apparate on her own.

Verity swiftly changed the subject to Potions where there was much grumbling from Draco, Blaise _and_ Cyn. Slughorn – their new Potions instructor – was a complete and utter ninny; the only ones who actually liked him were the Golden Trio. Slughorn was completely enamored by Potter, much to the dismay of the Slytherins and he refused to acknowledge many of the Slytherins; he seemed to harbor a dislike for Draco and Blaise. Cyn was decidedly neutral on the topic of Slughorn, but she had a few complaints – the first one being his obvious favoritism directed toward the Boy-Who-Lived. The second being that he _never_ awarded points to the Slytherins, only the Gryffindors or other Houses. She could list a plethora of other things that she disliked about Slughorn, not that it would do any good when everyone else seemed to love him.

"Sounds rough," Verity commented sympathetically, fidgeting with her green and silver scarf which was wrapped around her neck. She looked around, "I find that I'm done here. Shall we go?"

"Go where?" Draco asked but stood anyways.

"Anywhere but here," Verity said, her eyes falling on a gaggle of redheads that had walked through the door of The Three Broomsticks.

Draco nodded, and the two hurriedly walked out of The Three Broomsticks; Cyn, Blaise, and Makayla followed leisurely after them.

"Honestly, I don't know why she continues to avoid him." Makayla grumbled, as they followed Draco and Verity at a distance. Cyn glanced at Makayla. "Their relationship was frowned upon, by both families but it wasn't like they were going to do anything to stop it. There are so few Blacks left that none of them would bother blasting Verity off of the tree, and she's never been able to do anything wrong in the eyes of her parents. The biggest issue was his family – it's why they broke up. Potter's stupid friend ruined their relationship."

Cyn nodded, awkwardly looking down at the ground. She didn't know what to say – if she could say anything at all. She hadn't been there so she didn't know the circumstances, and it may seem a little rude for her to insert her opinion where it likely doesn't belong. Thus, she stayed quiet. They followed Draco and Verity into one of the newer shop's in Hogsmeade: _Cerissa's_.

Walking in, Cyn was delighted to find that it was a multi-faceted shop; by that she means that it sold a variety of goods from potions to broomsticks, books and even clothes. The shop smelled faintly of perfume and in the center of the room, in a see through fireplace, fire crackled emitting a warmth that was welcome over the chill that had descended in the air. The colors were muted and neutral with varying shades of black and gray, blue and green. Verity and Draco were standing near them, gawking around the shop and Cyn's heart beat faster as she examined all of the goods that were available.

"Welcome to Cerissa's, I'm Cerissa how may I help you?" A voice said from beside them.

They turned and Cyn's eyes widened at the beauty of the woman before her. Brown hair curled elegantly over the woman's shoulders and bright blue eyes glimmered with happiness and mischief as she stared at them; her skin glowed with a healthy tan and she was impeccably dressed in a white knee-length dress, with a faux fur shawl wrapped around her shoulders.

"I didn't know that this place existed," Makayla whispered to Cyn, as Verity explained to Cerissa that they were just fine and were looking around.

Cerissa grinned, "Well then by all means look around."

The five teenagers shared amazed looks before going their separate ways. Makayla gravitated towards the books, Blaise and Draco towards the Quidditch supplies, and Verity headed for the clothes. Cyn, meanwhile headed to the back where she could hear the soft croons and sounds that animals made. What she saw took her breath away. Cerissa had all kinds of magical creatures, from exotic ones to more commonplace ones like a Bowtruckle. Lying on a soft cushion in front of her were several baby Kneazles, not even a year old.

Her heart melted and she stepped forward, peering at them. A soft laugh made her whirl around.

"A Kneazle lover huh?" Cerissa asked her wand in her hand. She stepped up beside Cyn looking at the Kneazles. "So am I. You have a license?"

"Of course I do." Cyn answered.

Cerissa smiled, "Just checking. These little babies are twenty Galleons each."

Cyn didn't flinch at the price. Paying twenty Galleons for a Kneazle wouldn't leave her family hurting for money at all. Cyn dug around in pockets, withdrawing twenty Galleons and handed it over to Cerissa, who smiled primly and told her to pick one. At first Cyn was drawn to the darkest colored Kneazle, but a soft and plaintive meow drew her attention away from it and she knew that this was the one that she wanted. The Kneazle was the tiniest out of all of the ones that Cerissa had, and was a spotted gray with brilliantly blue eyes; her tail didn't resemble a lion's in any way. She looked more like a regular American shorthair if Cyn was being honest with herself, but the intelligence sparkling in her eyes confirmed that it was a Kneazle.

"She's a purebred Kneazle," Cerissa said, "I have her identification right here and I can prove it." She waved her wand over the Kneazle and a pink light glowed around the kitten. "It glows pink if they are a pure Kneazle – which she is."

Cyn cuddled the Kneazle close to her, watching Cerissa carefully. The witch handed Cyn all kinds of supplies for the Kneazle, and instructed her on how to treat it. Then she thanked Cyn for her business and disappeared. Cyn had difficulty balancing all of the supplies and her Kneazle – as if knowing her struggle the Kneazle clambered up her arms and rested on her shoulder, its cold nose touching her neck.

"What to name you," Cyn mused as she headed back to the front of the store. "I know! Belle, because you're so pretty and you're very intelligent."

"Talking to yourself now are you?" Draco drawled and Cyn turned around, seeing his eyes widen when he saw the Kneazle perched on her shoulder.

"No, I'm talking to Belle." Cyn indicated the Kneazle. "Did you guys get anything?"

"Yes," Draco answered falling into step beside her. "Christmas presents."

"It's not even October yet!" Cyn protested with a smile.

"Well yes, but we both figured that it would be easier if we bought presents now." Draco explained with a shrug. "I can see what you got."

Cyn nodded proudly. Belle plaintively meowed and Cyn cooed at the Kneazle, "Ah Belle vous êtes si mignon n'est-ce pas? Une si jolie fille."

"You know French?" Draco questioned sounding surprised as they headed over to the clothes, where they could hear Verity talking loudly to Makayla.

"I do." Cyn answered. "My parents demanded that I learn it along with several other languages, and having classes on décor and etiquette." She smiled wryly, "The perks of being a pureblood."

Draco nodded in understanding. Being a pureblood wasn't easy. As a pureblood a number of expectations surrounded you and you had to live up to all of them, or risk bringing shame onto an ancient and well-respected family; it was a lot of pressure. That was why from a young age, purebloods were groomed to be the best at everything they did and were trained in dance and languages; things that many people thought had no use. But to a pureblood etiquette was _everything_.

"I'm going to head back to the castle," Cyn told Draco. "My arms are aching."

"I'll walk you back." He offered.

Cyn tried not to let the surprise that she felt show on her face. She would have thought that he would have wanted to stay with Blaise and his cousin. But she didn't question it; she only nodded and with a small smile walked out of the shop, Draco following closely behind her. The walk up to the castle was silent, but Cyn found that it wasn't awkward and she had no desire to break it. It was a comfortable silence, both teenagers absorbed in their own thoughts.

"Thank you for walking me back to the castle," Cyn told Draco as they stepped into the Slytherin Common Room.

"Not a problem," he returned sticking his hands into the pockets of his dress pants. "It's what a respectable pureblood wizard do." Insert eye roll.

Cyn snickered. "Well thank you anyways."

As the weeks passed, Cyn found herself becoming increasingly isolated. She was swamped with classwork and Draco had all but disappeared from her life; Verity was busy with her own classes and because of Astronomy was often up late at night meaning that Cyn almost never saw her. With Draco's absence in her life, Blaise had also disappeared. Makayla was of a different house, and so was someone that Cyn didn't see very often if at all; Makayla was also a fifth year so they didn't share any of the same classes.

Cyn sighed, absently stroking Belle who meowed and ducked away from her hand. The kindhearted Kneazle curled up against Cyn's side, watching her mistress with a concerned look in her blue eyes. Cyn glanced down at her book _101 Spells for a Hit Witch_ by Elythia Winters. The door to the girl's dormitory opened and Pansy walked in, a satisfied smile on her face. Cyn looked down, reaching out and rubbing Belle's head, as Pansy flopped onto the bed occupied by Daphne Greengrass.

She couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"I had the most amazing time with Draco," Pansy sighed dreamily.

"You know that it's likely just sex right?" Daphne's cold voice answered in return, and Cyn flinched.

He had abandoned her for Parkinson. Cyn sighed, turning the page in her book. She shouldn't really look at it as him abandoning her; they had only just met and they had forged a tentative friendship at best. At least, that's what she told herself.

"So what if it is?" Parkinson sounded defensive. "That doesn't take away from the fact that he's amazing."

Cyn rolled her eyes. Parkinson's rather obvious devotion to Draco was something that she couldn't fathom.

"But he's just using you for sex," Daphne pointed out. "Anyways, I thought that he liked Winters."

"Well obviously not since they don't spend time together anymore," Parkinson snapped. "Can we focus on me?"

Cyn's grip on her book tightened. Belle meowed, nuzzling Cyn's hip and she smiled a little gazing down at the Kneazle fondly. _Even though I was virtually alone, at least I still have Belle_ , Cyn thought. Cyn reached into her messenger bag, withdrawing the stack of letters that her parents and Farrah had sent her; she had never gotten around to reading them because she had become too busy with school. Now seemed like the perfect time to read them – it would take her mind off of what had happened, and it would help her to block Parkinson and Daphne out.

The letters from her family were standard; her mother was inquiring about how she was doing in school, and her father was imparting the need for caution especially amongst "that Potter boy, that you so often mention". He also made sure to emphasize the need to make friends from other houses and added that ideally they would be purebloods. Cyn set the letters that her parents had sent her on her left and then began to read Farrah's letters.

 _Dear Cyn,_

 _Hello girly! I'm so glad that you wrote back to me, and I must confess that I'm a little disappointed that Hogwarts isn't as awful as you thought it would be. I was hoping that it would be because I was holding out this hope that if it was terrible that you'd be able to come back. I realize now that isn't the case._

The rest of that letter was Farrah expressing how much she had missed her, and how much she wished that she could come back. The second letter that Cyn read was Farrah explaining how everything had changed at Ilvermorny, from attacks on Muggle-born students, to a new Charms teacher, to Kyra and Grayson announcing that they were going to get married after they graduated. That last tidbit of information shocked Cyn to the core; she had known that the two had begun dating but she had no idea that they were _that_ serious about each other.

Once Cyn had finished reading all of Farrah's letters, she stuffed them back into her messenger bag alongside the letters from her parents.

 _I'll write back to them tomorrow,_ she decided, laying back on the bed and cuddling Belle close.


	7. Chapter Six

Cyn quietly headed up to the Owlery early the next morning, a stack of parchment clutched in her hands. As soon as she had woken up she had written letters to her parents, Farrah and sent a letter to Kyra. Each letter she was sending off ended up about being four pages, each. Cyn called her owl to her, and with strict instructions told her to first deliver the letter with the red ribbon to her parents, then the letters with the green ribbons to Farrah and Kyra who were at Ilvermorny. The owl hooted, and once the letters were within her grasp she flew off.

Cyn wasn't certain whether Snowy had understood her or not, but she was confident that her parents would make sure that the letters got to Farrah and Kyra. Cyn wiped her hands down the front of her robes, looking out at the snowy landscape before turning around and making her way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Today would be another dueling day, for which Cyn was grateful.

It would allow her to let off some steam and it would relieve the tension that had been building within her, since being left to her own devices. Cyn brushed a strand of dark hair behind her ears, slipping into the classroom and taking a seat near the back. Snape was in front of the classroom, messing around with things on top of his desk.

Slowly more students began to file in, but Cyn paid little attention. She twirled her wand in her hands, feet tapping against the stone floor. The door opened, and she looked up a scowl quickly forming on her face when the Golden Trio waltzed into the room, looking utterly smug with themselves. Cyn averted her eyes, looking down at the tabletop as the door opened and Blaise and Draco walked in. If Cyn had looked up she would have seen how sickly pale Draco looked, and how dark the shadows underneath his eyes were. But, she didn't so she didn't see how awful and exhausted he looked.

"Please take a seat Mr. Zabini, Mr. Malfoy," Snape drawled looking up from his desk. "We have a few materials to cover before we move on to dueling."

The class dragged on for what seemed like forever – Snape questioned them on the basic spells like Stupefy, Protego, and Reducto. Once he was satisfied that the class knew the incantations, and how to cast the spell they moved onto dueling. With a wave of his wand, all of the desks were pushed aside and made smaller, allowing for there to be enough room to duel.

"I will assign all of you partners. Potter and Parkinson. Malfoy and Winters. Zabini and Greengrass. Weasley and Granger." Snape continued to list off partners, and Cyn twisted to look at Draco who looked less than enthused.

Cyn looked away awkwardly, going back to twirling her wand around in her hands. Professor Snape snapped at everyone to get moving. Cyn stepped up to Draco, who looked at her a conflicted look in his gray eyes. Unhesitatingly Cyn launched a Stinging Jinx at Draco. His hand whipped up faster than she could see and he cast Protego, which blocked the spell and sent it rebounding to her. Just as quick he had cast Langlock at her.

Cyn moved in a flurry of movements blocking both spells, and sending two more at him without a word. The two dueled furiously, sending spells, hexes and jinxes at each other. Neither spoke as they launched spells at each other and to onlookers it was difficult to tell who would win. In the first dueling class Cyn had demonstrated her prowess in dueling, but Draco was just as adept. Cyn flicked her wand, a jet of red light streaming out of it. Draco moved too slow to block it and it hit him in the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground unconscious.

Cyn slowly lowered her arm, holding her wand loosely in her hand.

"Very good Ms. Winters, thirty points to Slytherin. Now take Mr. Malfoy to the Hospital Wing." Professor Snape ordered.

Cyn nodded. She wanted to argue that she wasn't strong enough to help Draco to the Hospital Wing without using magic, but she didn't. _I'm a witch, I have magic for a reason_ , she thought. With a flick of her wand, Draco's body floated into the air. It hovered after her as she began the trek to the Hospital Wing. Every so often Cyn would glance over her shoulder to make sure that he was still there. Cyn pushed open the doors to the Hospital Wing, and using her wand guided Draco's body over to one of the empty beds.

"Madam Pomfrey?" Cyn called.

The white-haired medi-witch bustled forward. At first her eyes were on Cyn but then they drifted over to Draco's prone body lying on the bed. "What happened?" she asked, shuffling over to him and withdrawing his wand.

"He got hit by a stunning spell." Cyn explained.

The matron hmphed, "Well then. He should be fine; go back to class Miss Winters."

Cyn nodded obediently, striding out of the Hospital Wing. She had only one more class – Ancient Runes, and she wondered if she'd get in trouble at all if she decided to skip just the one class. After a few moments of consideration Cyn dismissed the idea, she was struggling enough in Ancient Runes as it was. Missing a day would only harm her later on. Cyn sulked into her Ancient Runes classroom.

She struggled listening to the professor talk about an assortment of ancient Welsh runes, and their meanings. Her eyes drooped and her head fell forward. Cyn jerked, eyes snapping open and watched the professor as she handed out a stack of papers to each student with instructions to decode them by next week. Cyn groaned, picking up the paper and stuffing it into her Ancient Runes textbook.

As she headed back to the Slytherin Common Room, she decided that it was a good thing that everyone had become withdrawn; at least it gave her an opportunity to finish her homework on time. Cyn stepped into the Common Room after saying the password to the door emblazoned with snakes and sat on one of the couches, tugging her messenger bag into her lap.

"Winters where's Draco?" Parkinson's whiny voice broke the quiet.

Cyn didn't look up or even acknowledge that Pansy had spoken. Parkinson shrieked, stomping her foot on the ground.

"Answer me when I'm talking to you." Parkinson growled, stepping closer to Cyn.

She was trying to appear intimidating but it didn't faze Cyn. She looked up, staring at the pug-faced girl with no emotion in her eyes. "He's in the Hospital Wing," She said sounding bored. "Now if that's all I have Ancient Runes homework to do."

Parkinson emitted what one could call a growl and stomped out of the Common Room, her hands shaking. Cyn rolled her eyes, pulling out the worksheet that the Professor had given them and set about filling it out. It wasn't as hard as she had expected it to be, but she knew that she was getting some of the runes confused. Some of them just looked too similar. Cyn sighed, finishing off her Ancient Runes worksheet and stuffed it back into her bag. She stood up, the strap of her bag digging into her shoulder a little. Without looking or saying a word to anyone else she headed to the girl's dormitory.

She dropped her bag onto her bed and changed into her bedtime wear. Suddenly her appetite was gone, and she laid back on the bed, wand tucked underneath her pillow. Belle, the Kneazle, moved from her spot at the foot of the bed and curled up against Cyn's chest purring contentedly.

 _At least I have you Belle_ , Cyn smiled feeling infinitely thankful for the Kneazle.

Then she drifted off to sleep.

Waking up, felt disorienting to Draco. His head was pounding and his mouth felt dry. He blinked, looking around the Hospital Wing. His memory was a little hazy but he knew how he ended up in here. He had been dueling Cyn in Defense Against the Dark Arts; the entirety of the duel she had been tense and her eyes had flashed with anger taking him by surprise. He got hit by Stupefy, and then he knew no more. Draco pushed himself to sit up straighter and looked around. Some irrational part of him hoped that Cyn would be here.

But why would she?

Since acquiring the Dark Mark and being given a task by the Dark Lord, he had abandoned her. He had seen how Blaise and Verity followed his lead, leaving her alone. He swallowed thickly, hands balling into fists at his side. He had ruined whatever tentative friendship he had formed with Cyn. There had to be a way to make it up to her.

Draco Malfoy wasn't the sentimental type, and other than Blaise and his cousin he had never placed much value in friends or had the desire for any. But Cyn was somehow different. He wanted her friendship – craved it, even. From the very first moment he met her in Diagon Alley, some insatiable need had welled up inside him to know Cyn and to get closer to her. Something about her had drawn him in; she seemed different.

The door opened and Parkinson ran in, a frantic expression on her. Draco scowled looking away from her. He needed Cyn back in his life; Parkinson was driving him insane.

But how was he going to make it up to her?


	8. Chapter Seven

A week passed.

Then two.

The beginning of the third week marked a change in Cyn's life. Draco had appeared in front of her one day, a hopeful smile on his face. For a moment or two he had looked shy and then he spoke, saying he was sorry for hurting her and then he asked for her forgiveness. After his apology he had handed her her favorite food – a chocolate éclair. She had been surprised but had accepted the éclair. Nothing had changed.

Draco was hanging around her a bit more, and Blaise and Verity had started talking to her once more. She was careful though with revealing too much, because they had abandoned her once before. What was to stop them from abandoning her again?

Nothing.

They had done it once they could easily do it again. Cyn sighed, shoving her Ancient Runes textbook across the table and grabbing a book about curses from the pile beside her. Having just finished her Ancient Runes homework, she decided that she should complete Snape's homework. With the opinion that people held of him, Cyn had expected Professor Snape to be this tyrannical teacher who assigned copious amounts of homework. Those assumptions that she had had were quite false, but from everyone's reactions they had been logical.

Honestly, she didn't see why people hated him so much. Yes, he assigned them a lot of homework and he was biased towards the Slytherins (slightly) but if you treated him with respect there was no problem. That was the thing. Many of the students – especially the Gryffindors – didn't treat him with respect of any kind, and they followed the lead of Harry Potter who always wanted to place the blame of something bad on Professor Snape. Draco dropped into the seat beside her, startling her just a little.

Cyn glanced at him and then turned her attention back to her homework.

"Hogsmeade is coming up soon," Draco said casually, "and Verity wanted to ask you to go with us."

"Just Verity?" Cyn asked.

"No, not just Verity. Blaise and I too." Draco admitted, staring at her with an intensity that she couldn't describe. "So will you come with us?"

"I can't. I have plenty of homework but thank you for the kind offer," Cyn answered cordially. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Draco scowl. She set her feather quill down, and turned to Draco. "Don't pout it's unbecoming."

"I'm not pouting," he denied a smirk pulling at his lips. "I'm just frowning." Cyn laughed a little. He stared at her. "We've missed you, you know."

Cyn looked away, tugging at the collar of her school robes. She wanted to believe his words, she really did but she couldn't forget what had happened and how easily it had happened; how easily it could happen again. Draco must have picked up on her hesitation because he stood and with one last parting glance at her, he walked out of the library. Cyn groaned, her head falling to the table.

 _Why did boys have to be so complicated?_

Hours later, Cyn would be found walking towards the Slytherin Common Room. Curfew was approaching and the Prefects would start their patrols soon. Cyn _hated_ the Prefects; many of them found ways to give detentions for the stupidest things – cough Hermione Granger cough – and not only that but they acted so pretentious, like they were better than everyone else. Someone cleared their throat behind her and Cyn whirled around.

 _Great,_ she sighed, _it's Granger_.

Undoubtedly she was the most pretentious of all the Prefects and she took her duties as a Prefect way too seriously. Cyn shifted her Ancient Runes textbook in her arms, arching a brow.

"Yes Granger is there someone you wanted?" She asked, less than friendly.

"It's almost curfew, if you don't head back to the Slytherin Common Room, I'm going to have to give you a detention and dock points." Granger answered primly, her nose in the air.

Cyn rolled her eyes, "And where did you think I was going? The kitchen?"

Granger reeled back, staring at her in surprise. "Well there's no reason to take that tone."

Cyn sighed, shaking her head and walked away from Granger. Supposedly the Gryffindor was supposed to be the "brightest witch of our age" but honestly, there were smarter witches than her like Verity, or Cyn herself. Cyn struggled with Ancient Runes but excelled in every other subject – hence why she got 11 Outstandings at Ilvermorny. Verity was also very smart. No one realized that there were other people who were just as smart if not smarter than Granger, because Granger was a know-it-all and she prided herself on that. She flaunted her intelligence where everyone else didn't.

Cyn spat the password to the door which swung open. She stalked into the Common Room, a scowl etched on her pretty features. It was a scowl which Verity immediately took notice of. She sat up, brushing an errant curl away from her face and stared at Cyn with something akin to concern on her features.

"What's wrong?" Verity asked, as Cyn sat on the couch, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Granger irks me." Cyn growled. "She's such a pretentious little bitch."

"Ouch. Harsh," Verity said. "But true. She's such a know-it-all."

Cyn nodded in agreement. It was safe to say that none of the Slytherins had a high opinion of Granger; not only was she a Muggle-born but she thought that she was better than everyone else. At least that's how it appeared. Ordinarily Cyn tried to be indifferent on the topic of Muggle-borns; she liked to treat them like they weren't outsiders and she was nice to them. But it was absolutely impossible for her to be nice to Granger; the Muggle-born witch just rubbed her the wrong way.

"It's not even curfew yet, and she cornered me as I was heading here to the Common Room. She was like, 'You know that it's almost curfew right? You better get to the Slytherin Common Room or I'll have to deduct points and give you a detention'." Cyn rolled her eyes. "I was heading towards the dungeons, where the frick did she think I was going? Outside?"

"Breathe," Verity told Cyn resting her hands on the elder girl's shoulders. "I know she's annoying, but there's no point in letting her get you worked up. You're a pureblood, and yeah she ruffles your feathers but she's insignificant. She doesn't matter."

Cyn considered Verity's words. She supposed that in the grand scheme of things, that once she left Hogwarts that she'd never see Granger again and Granger would be of no importance to her. _Verity was right, Granger is insignificant,_ Cyn thought. Granger's just a stupid Muggle-born.

"Better?" Verity checked.

Cyn nodded, "Better."

Verity smiled. "Good."

Cyn relaxed against the couch. Maybe she could start to rebuild her relationship with Verity, Blaise, and Draco. When Granger ruffled her feathers, Verity knew what just to say to calm her down, Blaise was funny, and even though sometimes Draco was an annoying git he had been one of her first friends. Cyn fiddled with the sleeve of her robe. _Yes,_ she decided, _I'd give them another chance. But this is the last one._

* * *

It was weird, trying to get back into a set routine with Verity, Blaise, and Draco. The four of them had been estranged for quite some time and settling back into a familiar rhythm was difficult. Cyn was trying to get used to the fact that they were surrounding her again, and they were trying to get used to Cyn being the fourth member of their group, once more. But, they were slowly settling into a routine. Every morning they would gather in the Great Hall for breakfast where Draco would glower at Potter and his friends, as per usual, and Verity would tease him, while Cyn would either work on her homework or rant about that insufferable know-it-all Hermione Granger. Honestly, Cyn couldn't even see _why_ Granger had friends. As she had stated before, Hermione Granger was a pretentious little bitch.

"Let it go," Verity counselled Cyn, as they sat at the table in the Great Hall, a few weeks after the four of them had more or less "made up".

Blaise was sitting beside Verity, while Draco had taken up residency at Cyn's side. Draco arched a brow, glancing at Cyn. "Granger is still getting under your skin?"

"How can she not," Cyn grumbled, sipping at her goblet of orange juice. "I just can't stand her. She acts like she's better than me all the time, and I hate it. Why does she not realize that there are people out there smarter than her and the world doesn't possibly revolve around her?"

"Mm, because she's a filthy Mudblood, I'd guess," Verity answered. "They aren't known for being the smartest of the bunch, despite what Granger thinks."

"Yes, well I think someone should teach her a lesson in humility."

"Someone like you?" Verity raised her brows.

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Draco asked, sounding interested. "A prank?"

"I was thinking something worse than that," Cyn murmured, a devious smile curling her lips. "Pranks are a good touch, but not quite." She nudged Draco in the side at his skeptical look. "Just think of this as your way of making it up to me, after you all ditched me."

He softened, a small smile curling his lips as he nodded, "Fine." He leaned closer, his minty breath washing over her face, "What did you have in mind?"

"Listen closely," Cyn whispered. _Oh Granger, you have no idea what's coming to you,_ she thought viciously.


	9. Chapter Eight

_**I added a little more to chapter seven before writing this, so it might be helpful to check that out for more context of this chapter. This chapter kind of gets the plot rolling a little bit more.**_

* * *

After plotting her revenge against Granger, it could be said that Cyn Winters was in a fantastic mood. It was something that she made no effort to hide, either. She was ecstatic! Primarily, because she was going to show that Granger girl that she wasn't the center of the universe, and because Blaise, Verity, and Draco were aiding her in her little plot. What was that plot, one might ask? Oh, it only involved some harmless pranking intermixed with psychological warfare. What better way to make Granger realize she wasn't amazing, than to destroy her psyche? The very thought of it made Cyn giddy.

However, it couldn't be quite as simple as it sounded. For one, Granger was constantly surrounded by Ron Weasley or Harry Potter, so the four Slytherins would have to proceed with caution. For another, Granger was such a teacher's pet, so if she could find proof that it had been the four of them, there was no doubt in Cyn's mind that she would go to a teacher. Thus, the best way for them to execute part of their plan was in Snape's class. Snape _hated,_ no, _loathed_ the Golden Trio so there would be no danger of Granger running to him because he'd dismiss any of her complaints. They were also Slytherins, which meant that up to a certain point, Snape would certainly overlook their actions. Especially, since they were going to torment one of his least favorite students.

Cyn figured that it was a win-win situation. For the Slytherins and Snape, at least.

"Would you quit acting so excited," Draco hissed at her side. "You're going to make everyone suspicious."

Cyn shot him a frosty look. "I'm sorry, I'm excited to _prank_ her."

"I thought you were referring to it as psychological warfare," he raised his brows.

"Well, yes, it is, but if anyone was listening to our conversation we don't want them to _hear that part_ , do we?" She hissed. "Honestly, Draco, I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"There is no reason to get snappy at me, Winters. Did you forget that I'm helping you," he growled back, silver eyes glittering irritably.

"Sorry."

He hummed doubtfully but didn't press the subject. Anxiously, Cyn's foot bounced underneath the table as Blaise walked into the classroom, shadowing the Golden Trio who had entered just a few moments prior. A warm hand clamped down on her knee, stopping her foot from continuously bouncing up and down, and Cyn's cheeks flushed a bright vibrant red, as her eyes traced the hand back to its owner, Draco Malfoy. He grinned at her, and she quickly looked away from him wishing that the color in her cheeks would quickly fade.

"Relax," he whispered, as the Golden Trio took their seats, save for Hermione who sat down, gasped and immediately stood back up as her hands flew to her backside.

Cyn snickered, grinning mischievously at Draco. "I am relaxed, whatever could you mean?" She mumbled, her eyes locking one more on Hermione who once more made a move to sit down before shooting straight back up.

Up at the front of the classroom, Snape was looking thoroughly irritated at Hermione's antics, and even more irritated at the whispers coming from everyone else in the classroom. "Miss Granger, would you please just sit down already. I'm sure your seat is just fine without you constantly testing it to make sure that it is 'just right'," Snape drawled.

Hermione's jaw dropped, and she looked scandalized before dropping down into the seat quite heavily, a blush staining her fair complexion. Cyn snickered, glancing at Draco and finding that he was just amused as she was. Though his amusement, was better hidden than hers. Sitting directly behind Hermione, was Blaise, and that was when the second phase of their little prank came into play. He was going to hex a piece of paper that he had slipped onto her chair and turn into a faux Howler of sorts. It was sure to send Granger into a tizzy, and would no doubt irritate Snape however Snape's irritation would be with Hermione, and if they were lucky he'd even ask her to leave class. Or better, assign her a detention!

Cyn wriggled in her chair and Draco sent her a stern look which immediately cause her to still and whisper an apology. Blaise turned around slightly in his desk to wink at both her and Draco, before facing Hermione and quickly flicking his wand. Immediately, thunderous yelling filled the room as a feminine voice yelled at Hermione for poor grades, poor attitude and behavior, and lectured her about treating people better and how the Muggle-born girl was not the "queen of the universe". That was just a little phrase that Cyn thought up, that she hoped would go nicely with the faux-Howler.

By the time the piece of paper exploded, after finishing a lengthy rant on Hermione's curly hair, the Muggle-born's cheeks were a bright scarlet and she couldn't bear to meet anyone's eyes. Cyn snickered, leaning against Draco a little as she fought to control her laughs as Snape strolled up to Hermione's desk, brimming with irritation.

"Dismissed, Granger. I have had enough of your outbursts," Snape drawled. He glanced at Potter and Weasley as they made a move to move after Hermione, who had practically run from the classroom. "Not, you two. You two, still have class."

Cyn covered her mouth, disguising her smile as Snape stalked back up to the front to begin their lesson. _Well, that's Phase One complete,_ she thought. _Now, onto Phase Two._

* * *

 _Phase Two_ , Cyn thought, _was a smashing success._ During lunch, Granger's goblet had exploded in her face, showering the Muggle-born with cranberry juice and accidentally ruining homework that the girl had been working on. Later, Verity had also tripped the girl as she was walking up the stairs, although no one else was around that could verify that. Blaise had used a jinx to make pimples appear on Hermione's face, and Draco and Cyn had feigned concern before sneakily planting another faux-Howler on Hermione which would eventually go off during Potions with Slughorn. As Cyn walked into the Great Hall for dinner, she felt nothing but euphoric despite the small part of her that cringed upon seeing Hermione's face as she sat between Potter and Weasley, crying. The youngest Weasley, Ginny, was sitting across from them trying to soothe Hermione but it didn't appear as if it was helping.

But Cyn also felt a vicious satisfaction, at seeing Hermione look so unsure of herself. It made her appear certainly less self-righteous and irritating, Cyn had reasoned with herself. Had the pranks been mean-spirited? Perhaps, but it wasn't like Granger was entirely undeserving of it. The little know-it-all, had gotten everything that she deserved even if a small, small, miniscule part of Cyn felt a little bad for making the Muggle-born cry. She pushed that small part to the side, ignoring it as she sat beside Draco who was laughing with Blaise and Verity as they had recounted the pranks that they had pulled on her when Cyn and Draco hadn't been around.

"Plan was a success," Draco informed her.

"I'm very aware of that," Cyn murmured. "Did you see her crying with Weasley and Potter?"

"With her face all scrunched up," Blaise crowed, snickering.

"She looks delightfully pathetic," Verity sniffed.

"She's a Muggle-born, what else can you expect?" Draco said viciously, sipping at his glass full of water. "They aren't exactly known for being graceful or tactful, but rather clumsy and moronic. Don't you think?"  
"I don't think Granger quite fits into the moronic stereotype, unless it comes to anything over than academics," Cyn sniffed. Her eyes lazily roved around the Great Hall, before falling once more on Hermione who was staring at them, her brows wrinkled. "Someone's staring."

"I don't know why. It's not like we did anything," Verity lied.

Although, only Blaise, Cyn, and Draco knew that it was a lie. But because of how confident and snooty she appeared when she said it, too anyone watching it would have appeared as though Verity was telling the truth.

"She's inherently suspicious of us because we are pureblood Slytherins," Cyn muttered, resting her chin in her palm. "Little does she know that prejudice goes both ways." Draco glanced at her. "Slytherins are prejudiced against Gryffindors, but Gryffindors are prejudiced against Slytherins, for example. It goes both ways. She's not as righteous or redeemable as she thinks she is. At least we can own up to our own flaws, instead of portraying ourselves as perfect."  
"What are you talking about? I am perfect," Blaise laughed, erasing the tension that had developed after Cyn's little spiel.

The four chatted easily amongst themselves, even with the weight of Granger's gaze on them. It was obvious to anyone looking that Granger believed that the four Slytherins had something to do with the misfortunes that had plagued her throughout the day, and she wasn't wrong but to an onlooker it looked silly an as if she was being prejudiced. There was nothing that even _hinted_ at the fact that a Slytherin was involved, let alone the four Slytherins that she was blatantly staring at. Not that they would ever own up to what they had done to her; none of them were looking to getting in trouble with the faculty. Which was why they had made sure that nothing could be traced back to them.

Even if Granger was right, there was nothing she could do to prove it was them. For now, it was all just hearsay. Cyn tossed her dark hair over her shoulders as Blaise regaled them with a story about the Triwizard Tournament that Hogwarts had hosted when the two (two, being Blaise and Draco) were in their fourth year. Of course, by some stroke of luck or misfortune, Potter had somehow been allowed to take part. Because of course, nothing could ever be on a level playing field when it came to him.

"Too bad Cedric died," Cyn murmured, once Blaise had finished the story. "How do they know it wasn't Potter that killed him?"

"Because Potter walks on water," Draco scowled. "Haven't you heard? The Boy Who Lived can do no wrong." He pitched his voice lower, "It was You-Know-Who that had Diggory murdered. Potter and Dumbledore can attest to that."

"So can the Ministry," Blaise added, ignoring the dark look Draco shot his way.

Cyn hummed. "So there is irrevocable proof then that it was You-Know-Who."

"Seems like it," Draco murmured, suddenly seeming very uncooperative and unwilling to talk.

Cyn watched him with concern as he seemed to shut down, only picking at his food and not contributing to any of the conversations that Verity and Blaise tried to draw him into. With a huff, Draco pushed his plate of food away from him a scowl etched on his aristocratic features. Cyn watched him worriedly.

 _What's going on with him,_ she wondered. _Does it have something to do with You-Know-Who?_


	10. Chapter Nine

For the next several weeks, Cyn watched as Draco continued to isolate himself and became more withdrawn. He still hung around Blaise, Verity, and herself but his attitude was considerably different. He wasn't as snarky as he used to be, or as keen on interacting with anyone least of all Cyn. His complexion had paled significantly in those few weeks and deep, purplish circles had made their appearance known underneath his eyes. He looked like a walking skeleton, and it worried Cyn immensely. She didn't like that he was acting so unlike himself and she really didn't appreciate how he wasn't willing to confide in them, despite numerous attempts by Verity and herself to get him to do so. His go-to response was always, "I am handling the situation. Everything is fine", but he also wouldn't elaborate on what the situation was.

He was undeniably frustrating.

Cyn hid her scowl from Pansy as best she could as she wrapped her Slytherin scarf around her neck, and grabbed her matching green and silver gloves. Pansy, had been out to get her ever since the Parkinson girl had learned that Draco and Cyn were friends once more, and ever since Draco had more or less tossed her to the side and completely abandoned her. But if Pansy knew that there was something one, she'd swoop in and try to take advantage of the situation which was the last thing Cyn wanted or needed.

Maybe a Hogsmeade weekend would do Draco some good. At least, Cyn hoped it would. She wanted him to stop acting so broody and distant. She wanted everything to be back to normal with him. She didn't like his newfound demeanor; she wanted him back to being snarky, yet unexpectedly kind (at least with her and Verity), confident and a little bit of a show-off. She didn't want him to constantly be quiet or to flinch every time someone moved too fast. Cyn quickly made her way out of the common room, meeting Verity in one of the hallways where many students from the various Houses were gathered. Some of them were already leaving in small groups, but others like Verity and Cyn, were waiting for people to join them.

Blaise wandered away from a group of shy, giggly Hufflepuffs. Verity reached out to hit him once he had drawn close enough but Blaise ducked away from her, hiding partially behind Cyn as Verity scowled at him. Cyn shifted uncomfortably in front of Blaise as he hid behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. As her eyes darted between Verity and Blaise, she couldn't help but wonder if something was going on between the two of them. Verity seemed annoyed over Blaise's flirting with those Hufflepuff girls.

"Hands off," Draco's voice growled, and then the man himself shoved Blaise away from Cyn. "Can't you see you were making her uncomfortable?"

Cyn smiled gratefully at Draco as he stood at her side, looking tired. But, then again he always looked tired, anymore.

"Thanks," Cyn said, as the quartet began their journey to Hogsmeade. "I'm so excited to buy Christmas presents for everyone."

"Didn't you already buy presents?" Verity asked.  
"No," Cyn laughed, shaking her head. "That was you and Draco. I haven't even gotten around to buying presents, yet. You could say that I'm a bit of a procrastinator."

"Apparently only when it comes to buying presents," Draco commented, sticking his hands into the pockets of his designer jacket. Cyn glanced at him a puzzled look on her face. "You always finish your homework as soon as you are able to, so you are not a procrastinator."

"I guess you're right," Cyn conceded.

Conversation lulled between them, as Cyn pondered what to get for her friends. Verity was an easy one, because the younger girl would be happy with any designer clothing that Cyn could get her hands on or even music from Spellbound (a rather popular all-witch band), but Verity would also appreciate journals and writing materials or even a book about Potions since the younger witch was exceptional when it came to Potions.

Blaise, was a little harder for Cyn to figure out, although she had some idea for what she could get him. She was thinking of purchasing him a watch, since he always wore one and then getting a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. Blaise would surely find some enjoyment out of those, and he did love candy. But, she still wasn't entirely sure if that was what she was going to actually do.

Blaise was complicated.

But, then again so was Draco. But, Cyn had a little bit better of an idea on what to get Draco. It also helped that her mother had asked Narcissa what a suitable gift would be for Draco, and then relayed the message to Cyn. According to Narcissa, Draco was looking for _Advanced Alchemical Experimentation_ and _Magical Instruction: The Dark Arts_ by Elythia Winters; the first book looked deeply into the works of Nicholas Flamel and explored (on a minor scale) the potion-making world, while the second book offered in-depth analysis of the Unforgiveables, the Dark Arts, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was certain that she could get her hands on both of those books while she was here in Hogsmeade, and if she couldn't she was sure that she could convince her mother to get them for her.

 _Maybe I can even get them signed for him_ , Cyn thought, as the quartet entered Tomes and Scrolls (a bookstore). Cyn immediately went to the bookshelves, her eyes roving the titles for the two that Narcissa said that Draco wanted. _Ah-ha_ , she thought, grabbing one of the books and flipping to one of the first pages, feeling immensely happy when she notice it was a special-edition autographed copy. _Draco ought to like it_ , she thought, as she began looking for the other title (that one being, _Magical Instruction: The Dark Arts_ ).

After ten minutes of searching for it, she was able to find it and like the other book it, too, was a special-edition autographed copy. Cyn grabbed the book off the shelf, cradling it gently to her chest as she headed to purchase the books. Blaise and Verity had remained near the front of the story, talking in low voices, while Draco had wandered off somewhere. But as soon as she had purchased the books, he was standing by the door of the store, holding it open as they headed outside.

"I could really go for some butterbeer," Verity said, looking between the three older students. "Hint, hint."

"We know," Draco said with a roll of his eyes, "it is not like you were being particularly subtle."

"Well I would have liked to know that you had at least caught on to my hints," Verity sniffed. "So are we?"  
"Going to The Three Broomsticks?" Draco sighed, "Yes, we are. Quit being so impatient."

Cyn sighed in relief when they finally made it into the pub, but before Draco could walk in he was called by a very irate McGonagall who began escorting him back to school, chastising him about skipping the detention that he had. Cyn watched the two go with a frown on her face, before quickly hurrying after Verity and Blaise who had gotten a table.

"Where's Draco?" Verity titled her head to the side with curiosity written all over her features.

"Apparently he has detention with McGonagall," Cyn answered, setting her bag beside her on the bench. "Apparently he skipped out on the detention he was supposed to serve, or something. I don't know. I only overheard a little bit of their conversation."

Verity hummed, looking quite disgruntled. "He really needs to get his act together. Narcissa is going to be so upset with him, when she finds out and she will find out."

"Give him a break," Blaise encouraged the two. "I'm sure it's just normal teenage angst and rebellion. Draco's never rebelled before, so maybe this is how he's choosing to do it." He sent Verity and then Cyn a stern look. "But lighten up. He doesn't need the two of you judging him."

"I'm not judging!" Cyn protested, as Verity mumbled a meager apology. "I'm only concerned for him, and wish that he would confide in one of us." Her cheeks flushed when Verity stared at her, a strange glimmer in her eyes. "What?"

"Nothing," Verity sang, slouching in the bench before abruptly straightening. "Is that Katie Bell?"

Cyn twisted in her seat, her eyes landing on the suspicious looking figure of Katie Bell who was practically stalking out of the pub, a wrapped package in her hand as her friend, Leanne, followed behind her gesticulating wildly and speaking in a hushed, hurried whisper to the Gryffindor girl. As soon as Katie had left, after a moment or two Verity decided that they should follow after them. They tailed them at a distance, their steps unhurried. Cyn didn't care what happened, just like Blaise didn't and despite Verity's insistence that they hurry so they wouldn't lose sight of those two, but then slowed her steps when Cyn and Blaise refused to hurry up. The lane they were on was covered with snow, and it wasn't long before Cyn realized that they weren't alone. Ahead of them was the Golden Trio, and ahead of the Golden Trio were Katie and Leanne who were in the midst of what looked to be a very heated argument.

Then suddenly, Katie rose into the air, her arms gracefully outstretched and her face void of any expression. Leanne's frantic voice pierced the air, as the Hufflepuff tried to frantically pull the Gryffindor back to the ground. Cyn's jaw dropped and she gripped tightly onto Verity's arm as Hagrid pushed past them, heading toward the girl.

Then she screamed. Katie dropped like a sack of rocks, becoming limp on the ground and Cyn pressed herself closer to Verity as Blaise wrapped his arms around them, gently herding them back to the castle and leaving Katie in the care of the Golden Trio, Leanne, and Hagrid.

* * *

Events back at Hogwarts were a somber affair, after the student body learned what had happened to Katie Bell. Cyn quietly nibbled at her sandwich during dinner, her hands still shaking from what she had seen. The whole thing with Katie had scared her. She had never seen something like that before and she wondered why it had happened to Katie. She knew, or rather suspected, that the teachers wouldn't be giving them any answers. Draco, was also peculiarly quite quiet during dinner although given his recent attitude change, his silence wasn't perceived as anything unusual by anyone else.

But, Cyn still found it unusual. He had been acting almost earlier in Hogsmeade before he had been taken away by McGonagall, but now he was just as silent as he had been in the weeks leading up to the Hogsmeade trip. Cyn swayed in her seat, her vision suddenly going spotty and she leaned against Draco, the sandwich in her mouth suddenly tasting like dust and dirt.

"Cyn?" Draco asked, his voice sounding worried.

"I'm fine," she murmured, shakily sitting back up even as the world spun around her. "Just dizzy. I don't know why, though."

"Stress," Verity suggested. "Emotional strain." A mischievous smirk pulled at her lips as she said, "A lack of Draco in your life."

"Verity!" Cyn and Draco scolded, their voices filled with embarrassment that only multiplied when they realized that they had spoken at the same time.

"What?" the younger girl questioned defensively, holding her hands up. "It was just a joke, nothing more and nothing less. Although now that the both of you are so defensive, I have to wonder if the two of you are having relationship problems."

"We are _friends_ ," Cyn stressed, narrowing her eyes at Verity. "Don't turn this into something that it is not."

Verity made to protest but Blaise quickly clapped his over her mouth, halting any words that she wanted to say. "Do not make the situation worse," he told her.

Verity scowled at him but didn't protest too much. Cyn ate her dinner slowly, her stomach tossing and turning with every bite that she managed to force down. Her hands were still shaking and she stared down at them willing them to stop as frustrated tears sprung to her eyes. A pale hand grabbed one of her own, stilling the shaking and Cyn glanced up, her eyes meeting the molten silver that could only belong to Draco.

"Relax," he whispered, tucking their hands beneath the table. "You need to relax, Cyn."

"How can I? After seeing what was done to Katie Bell, how can I possibly relax? What if Verity is next? Or what if I am" Cyn snapped, but didn't pull her out of Draco's grip.

"You aren't," Draco sounded so sure of that as he spoke. "Don't dwell on the possibilities, Cyn, but live in the present. It's no use worrying over something when you don't even have the full information. Relax."

Cyn scowled, but found herself doing what he bade her. "Thanks."

He didn't answer but a smile tugged at his lips.

* * *

 _ **I used the Harry Potter wiki page to determine what house Leanne would be in. Also, some events may be slightly different or altered from what they originally were but that's to fit the purposes of this story. I've tried to stay as close to canon or the movie-verse as I can, but this story will alter events a little bit. What did you think of this chapter?**_


	11. Chapter Ten

_Dear Mom,_

 _This letter is for your eyes only. Not that I actually care if dad were to somehow get his hands on it and read its contents, but I'm writing this letter so that I can ask you for advice regarding the ever complicated subject of boys. More specifically, pureblood boys who just so happen to have the name Draco Malfoy. As you may already know, from my past letters to you, Draco and I are friends. Verity (Draco's cousin) and I, have noticed that Draco has been acting strange and the two of us have grown quite concerned, but he refuses to confide in anyone - even Blaise Zabini, one of his other friends. I want to help him because he's obviously struggling with something but he won't tell anyone what it is. But this is not the Draco that I have come to know, and admittedly grown fond of; this Draco is someone entirely different. He's much more withdrawn and antisocial, and he's just...different._

 _I'm worried about him._

 _I want to be there for him, but he won't let any of us support him because he won't even tell us what is actually wrong! What should I do?_

 _~ Cyn_

Cyn stared at the hastily written letter, her brows furrowing as she re-read over the sloppy sentences before crossing out several sentences. She then eventually crossed out the whole thing and re-wrote the letter, explaining everything that had happened in the past month from Draco's personality changing to becoming more withdrawn to what had happened during Hogsmeade. Cyn made sure to write about how she didn't know what was wrong with him, but she wanted to know because she wanted to help him. She emphasized within the second draft of the letter, how much Draco had changed, and how concerning that change actually was because it wasn't Draco and there was clearly something going on in his life that had begun that change.

She wasn't entirely happy with the second draft of the letter, and felt that she could have perhaps worded things more eloquently but, eloquence had been the last thing on her mind. She was worried about Draco. Since Katie had been cursed, he had started acting really funny (again). He was more withdrawn and at times, it was like he wasn't even present. Physically, yes, he was there but getting his attention was difficult and it was even more difficult to actually get him to participate in any kind of conversation. It was like his mind was always focused on something else.

Cyn folded the letter, tucking it in an envelope and sealing it before she went to the Owlery and sent it off to her mom. Maybe her mother would be able to give her sound advice with the Draco-situation; that was after all why she had written her mom. After sending the letter, Cyn headed back to the Slytherin common room where only a few other Slytherins were awake including Verity and Blaise who were sitting in a corner of the room playing Wizard's chess. Cyn sat down beside Verity, who barely spared her a glance as she checkmated Blaise.

The wizard scowled at Verity, and then groaned, "I lose."

"You do," Verity answered smugly. She then glanced down at Cyn. "Are you okay?"

"Of course," Cyn replied swiftly. "Just tired and ready for Christmas break to be upon us so that I can go home."

"Break is in a week, Cyn. I'm sure you'll be able to survive until then," Blaise teased. "Although break can't possibly be that relaxing for you, though. You are a Winters and there are probably certain pureblood expectations that you have to fulfill."

"Oh, that is true," Cyn said with a frown. "It is likely that I'll be attending various Christmas parties hosted by various different pureblood families, as my parents conduct their own business dealings and integrate us into British pureblood society which is entirely different from American pureblood society. Although there are similarities."

"Elaborate," Verity commanded, elegantly crossing her legs.

"Well, marriage contracts aren't as popular in America, for starters. Many pureblood families place less of an emphasis on blood and more of an emphasis on talent, so there's that as well," Cyn murmured. "Of course, that doesn't mean that the families have completely forsaken the idea of pure blood. My family, for instance, has only ever consisted of purebloods. But there are a few American families that have half-bloods or Muggle-borns in their family trees, yet they are still considered to be purebloods."

"Hm, well that's just moronic," Verity sniffed pompously. "You can't call yourself a pureblood if your blood isn't truly pure."

"There are a few British pureblood families, Verity, that aren't completely pure and have miniscule Muggle heritage," Blaise pointed out. "Of course the Sacred Twenty-Eight is probably an exception to that."

"Sacred Twenty-Eight?" Cyn asked, as she tried to remember what that meant. She was sure that she had heard that term before.

"A term coined by the author of the _Pure-Blood Directory_ , that lists twenty-eight families considered to be true purebloods by the 1930's," a familiar voice said, and a warm weight settled itself against Cyn's side. "Some members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight would include the Black family, the Carrows, the Greengrass family, the Lestranges, the Malfoys, etcetera," Draco said from his place at Cyn's side. "Interestingly enough the Zabinis are not a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight."

"Yes, but we are still considered to be a pureblood family. Just not _as_ pure as one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families," Blaise muttered, embarrassment coating his voice. "We still have a high standing within pureblood society. Although we cannot possibly hope to compare to the Malfoy family."

"Interesting," Cyn said, her eyes darting nervously between Blaise and Draco for a few moments. She let her body relax into the couch, her shoulder brushing against Draco's, and her cheeks infused with color. "How would my family factor into the Sacred Twenty-Eight then, if we were a British pureblood family?"

"It'd probably become the Sacred Twenty-Nine," Verity quipped.

"Indeed, but I wouldn't worry about it," Draco answered, after yawning. "Everyone knows that your family is a completely pureblood one. Besides, the Weasleys aren't really considered part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight anymore since they are a familiar of blood traitors. If anything, your family could take their place." He smirked, "If you were a British family."

Cyn laughed a little, allowing a small smile to slip onto her face. "That is a very good point, Draco. I suppose it doesn't matter anyhow." She glanced at Draco, "What are you doing for Christmas?"

He appeared hesitant to answer. After seeming to have a battle with himself, he answered with a strained smile, "The usual pureblood duties I would imagine - for example, boring Christmas parties hosted by families that I neither like or care about."

Cyn regarded him suspiciously for a few moments, before she redirected her attention to Verity who had begun speaking about said Christmas parties. Apparently, almost all of the pureblood families hosted a party at some point during the Christmas season regardless of how many others were doing the same. Verity told them that the Blacks would be hosting a Christmas party in France and that invitations would be sent out within the next two weeks and that at the same time the Black family's Christmas party was occurring that another family (the Parkinsons) would also be hosting a party, with many of the same guests being invited.

"Not that anyone will go to the Parkinson Christmas party when they could go to our party," Verity said imperiously, but not before shooting a quick glare toward Pansy Parkinson. "Of course, the Malfoys will be hosting their own party as usual. Isn't your family going to host a party too?" That question was directed toward Blaise.

Blaise nodded, "Yes. My parents have decided that the party we'll be hosting this year will be in Italy at one of our vacation homes."

Verity turned to look at Cyn, "Will your family be hosting a party?"

"I don't know actually," Cyn answered slowly, glancing at Draco whose eyes were locked on the fire burning in the fireplace and then back to Verity. "I would assume not, since we never have in the past but perhaps we will this year."

"Well if you do, make sure that an invitation is extended personally to me," Verity said primly.

"But of course," Cyn smiled. "How could I ever think of doing anything different?"

* * *

As the week progressed, Draco was acting more off than usual. Slughorn's Christmas party on the twentieth had certainly not helped matters, because Draco had come back to the common room in an extremely foul mood, and a dark look on his face. All the while, Cyn was anxiously waiting for her mother to answer her letter to no avail. Sitting in a compartment in the Hogwarts Express with her friends sans Draco, it could be said that Cyn was also in a foul mood. Verity had made the astute observation (partially in jest) that Draco's moods often influenced Cyn's, and then poked fun at the elder girl and implied a relationship existed between the two when none actually.

Cyn had not answered her, and had merely crossed her arms and stared out the window with a huff. Slowly the door slid open, and Draco flopped into the seat beside Cyn, a scowl on his elegant features. For a majority of the train ride, the quartet was silent. Actually, for the entirety of the train ride, after Draco had joined them the ride was silent. It was only after the train had stopped and they were all gathering their things did someone dare to break the silence.

"I'll see you all at my family's Christmas party," Verity said, before striding out of the compartment with Blaise on her heels.

Cyn finished grabbing her luggage bags and glanced at Draco who was still gathering his things. "I suppose, I'll see you at Verity's party then." She made to move out of the compartment when a hand seized her wrist. "What?" She asked, staring at Draco.

"Perhaps, you'll also see me at my family's party as well," he murmured.

"Is that an official invitation?" She questioned with a small smile.

"It could be."

The two walked off the train in companionable silence, and Cyn wished that Draco acted this way all the time. As she joined her parents and watched the Malfoys head off, she hoped that once they were home her mom would be able to give her advice on what to do with Draco. Cyn smiled as her father wrapped her in a hug.

"Ready to go home?"

"Absolutely."


	12. Chapter Eleven

It took a few hours for Cyn to get re-settled at home, since she had been away for so long. Her parents had given her time to re-settle, and not long after they had arrived home both of her parents had departed. Her mother, Julia, went shopping while her father, Charles, headed somewhere (he wouldn't tell her where). Cyn paced inside the medium-sized room that she claimed as her bedroom, her eyes tracing the familiarly colored walls, the maps of Ilvermorny and Hogwarts on the wall, and the pictures that her parents must have added to it. Everything in the room was spotless and looked as if it had remained untouched for a long period of time; which, it probably had since Cyn was an only child and she had been away at Hogwarts for the past few months.

She couldn't quite believe that her first year as a Hogwarts student was almost over. It was unbelievable, how quickly time had seemingly passed and Cyn was still in disbelief that the year was half over. She wasn't ready to become a seventh-year student just yet, but it was inevitable that it would be happening soon. Cyn sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the dark gray walls. She wondered where Aunt Irena was, this house was hers after all and it was a little odd how they had not run into her. Then again, Irena did like taking vacations and she was known to depart without a moment's notice. Still, Cyn was going to ask her parents where Irena was.

Cyn headed downstairs, her steps causing the wooden stairs to creak and groan underneath her weight. There was a crack, and then the sound of the Floo activating in the fireplace. By the time she arrived downstairs her father was wiping soot off of his clothes and her mother was fixing them supper, humming a jaunty little tune underneath her breath.

"Where's Aunt Irena?" Cyn asked, perching at the kitchen island.

"I believe she said that she was taking a trip to Romania," Julia answered her daughter.

Charles nodded, pressing a kiss to his wife's temple before taking a seat at the island beside his daughter. "She likes to travel, Cyn. It's not unsurprising that she wouldn't be here."

"Oh, I know that," Cyn hurriedly explained. "I was just curious as to where she had gone. It just surprises me a little that she'll be missing Christmas with us. She loves Christmas!"

Charles grinned, looking sly all of a sudden. "Do you really want to know why she's in Romania?"

"Yes," Cyn said eagerly. Her eyes lit up, "Does she have a boyfriend?"

Charles nodded, amusement in his eyes when it became obvious that Cyn was holding back a squeal and was practically vibrating with excitement. It was rare to see his daughter become so excited, because she usually had such good control over her emotions; although, that was primarily when she was around other purebloods as well.

"A Weasley," he said.

Cyn's nose wrinkled a little, "Those blood traitors?"

"Cynthia Winters," Julia reprimanded her daughter, narrowing her eyes. "We do not use that kind of language in our house. Irena, would be heartbroken if she heard you call her boyfriend that."

"That's what everyone in Slytherin calls them," Cyn defended herself, a little stunned at how angry her mother had gotten.

But wasn't it true? The Weasleys were for all intents and purposes blood traitors, at least to other pureblood families. When Cyn brought that up, her mother only scowled and huffed. With a pointed look at Charles, it was clear that her mother was expecting her dad to handle the situation.

"Cyn," Charles sighed.

She raised her brows challengingly, "It's true! To all the other pureblood families out there, the Weasleys are considered to be blood traitors. Why is it wrong for me to acknowledge that?"

"We aren't like those other pureblood families," Charles reminded her. "We have never been nor will we ever be the traditional pureblood family, steeped in archaic traditions like arranged marriages. We aren't a British pureblood family, Cyn, even though we are an American pureblood family. We have no business judging the other British pureblood families even if the other pureblood families consider the Weasleys to be 'blood traitors'. It's not our place."

Cyn swallowed, and looked away from her father. His words sounded wise and maybe held some merit, but this wasn't like America where things were more liberal and differences in opinions were tolerated a little more. Here, everything was steeped in tradition especially when it came to pureblood families and Cyn didn't want to risk her family's reputation just because her parents didn't want to pass judgment on the Weasleys.

"The issue with that is," Cyn said slowly, as she tried to gather her thought, "that if we do not label the Weasleys as blood traitors, we risk being labelled the same. We risk becoming ostracized in pureblood society and being looked down upon and harassed. In a situation like this, I don't think its necessarily passing judgment as much as it is preserving our family's name and saving our own skin." Cyn took a deep breath, her eyes fixing on her mother's back which was stiff. "Did you know that apparently, You-Know-Who is back?" From their sharp intake of breath, she gathered that they _hadn't_ known that. "Apparently, he is," she continued. "If we don't label the Weasleys as blood traitors we risk making a powerful enemy. We are purebloods. We can't risk alienating the other purebloods, and we can't risk putting a target on our backs."

After she had finished speaking it seemed like her parents were at a loss for words. She hadn't meant to sound harsh, and she didn't think she had, but she needed to get her parents to realize that there was something going on. Hearing that You-Know-Who was back had been a shock to her, and she knew that it was a shock to her parents as well but it wasn't something that she could hide from them. They couldn't afford to remain neutral; British pureblood society was inherently different compared to American pureblood society. They would have to pick a side. Her motives were perhaps slightly rooted in selfishness as well. If they didn't label the Weasleys as blood traitors, one of the families they would be alienating would be the Malfoys and she didn't want to lose her friendship with Draco. Cyn tapped her fingers on the granite countertop, avoiding her the eyes of her parents as they seemed to be having a silent conversation.

"Perhaps, your words have some merit Cyn," Julia agreed reluctantly, her eyes moving over to her daughter. "But we cannot abandon our morals either."

"What if we don't have a choice?" Cyn stood up, her eyes blazing and if her parents weren't mistaken it looked as if they were slightly shiny, as if she was fighting back tears. "I don't want to lose my friends simply because the two of you are too cowardly to label the Weasleys as blood traitors."

"Cynthia Elysia Winters!" Julia shouted. "That is _enough,_ " her voice was deadly.

It didn't faze Cyn who narrowed her eyes, glaring at her mother. "No!" Cyn shouted. "This isn't like America! Life here is different and you have to realize that! I don't want to lose my friends just because you want to hold onto your morals. Do you realize that by not labeling them as blood traitors, you could be putting as at risk? You-Know-Who is back, and instead of worrying about your morals, you should be worrying about practicing our lives. What do you think we could do against him or his followers? Nothing. Isn't it better to ally ourselves with them in order to save our own lives?" A stray tear rolled down Cyn's face and she hurriedly wiped it away, even as her whole body practically vibrated with anger and frustration.

She couldn't be naive; she had to face the reality of the situation and she had to get her parents to face that same reality. Cyn was many things but stupid wasn't one of them, and she couldn't pretend to be blind either. As much as she wanted everything to be okay, and for this to not be true she couldn't stick her head in the sand or cling to her morals like her mother wanted her to. That wouldn't work. They couldn't defy You-Know-Who (though, they themselves had personally not seen any indication that he was back, but Cyn doubted that Dumbledore would lie about something like that), because to do so would mean risking certain death and Cyn wanted to hold onto her life for as long as possible. Not only that, but she didn't want to lose her friends. If she did, she would have no allies in Slytherin. She'd be ostracized and picked on, and then their family would be just like the Weasleys - blood traitors.

"Stop being so stubborn," Cyn pleaded, her gaze locked on her mother's.

"Charles?" Julia looked to her husband, who heaved a heavy sigh as he stood up and placed his hands on Cyn's shoulders.

"Cyn has a point, Julia," Charles murmured and Cyn nearly sagged in relief. At least her dad understood her point of view. "It is not wrong to let our morals guide us but in some cases that cannot be the only thing that guides us. This is one of those times. If You-Know-Who is back like Cyn claims he is, then we need to let our self-preservation guide us. Not our morals. Irena would understand that." Julia frowned and Charles continued, "Cyn is right, that British pureblood society is different than what we are used to. It is more traditional and hierarchical. To go against it would get us the label that you don't want to ascribe to the Weasleys, and it would ostracize Cyn from her friends."

Julia huffed, turning back to the spaghetti that she was making. "Why do we need to cave to the majority's opinion, when it is so blatantly wrong?" She angrily set her spoon down on the counter and whirled back around to face Cyn and Charles. "Why can we not be brave and stand up to them?"

"I want to survive," Cyn whispered, "and I want to be with my friends. I can't do that if you take a stand against the purebloods." _Draco, Verity and Blaise would abandon me if we did what you are suggesting. They are my only friends in Hogwarts and we've developed a camaraderie. I can't let that happen_ , Cyn thought but didn't say the words out loud.

"Don't be so stubborn, Julia," Charles counselled moving from behind Cyn and over to his wife. "Don't be blind to the reality that is around us either. Haven't you sensed that some things are off? People are becoming more subdued, and the Ministry of Magic has been acting odd lately. There is something going on, and right now taking a stand is not the answer. Surviving is."

Julia clenched her jaw, "Fine."

She angrily turned back to her food and Cyn sighed, wrapping her arms around her middle as a few more tears fell down her face. She hadn't meant to cause an argument or make her mom mad, but it was inevitable that her mom would get mad. Julia Winters was nothing if not incredibly stubborn, and while that was something Cyn often loved about her mom, all it did now was frustrate and upset her. Why was her mother being so obtuse?

"I'm going to Diagon Alley," Cyn sighed, walking swiftly toward the fireplace.

"Cyn," Charles started and Julia slowly turned around.

Cyn ignored them, "Diagon Alley!" The fireplace lit up and soon Cyn was gone from their eyesight in a flash of green light, from the Floo powder.

She couldn't be around them any longer.

* * *

Cyn huffed as she wandered around Diagon Alley, brushing the soot off of her clothes. The ruffled blouse she was wearing was slightly discolored now thanks to the soot from the fireplaces, but she still managed to look presentable. At least, somewhat presentable. Not that it mattered, Cyn quickly realized. The streets of Diagon Alley were virtually empty, save for a few people milling about. Cyn slipped into _Rosa Lee Teabag_ , a shop that sold teas and set about browsing. The interior of the store was a nice change from the cold outside. Cyn glanced out one of the windows. _Maybe it will start snowing soon_ , she thought optimistically. She loved snow, after all.

As she wandered around the store it became quite evident that she wasn't alone. She could just barely hear other voices speaking in low tones, near a section at the back of the store and against her better judgment she wandered over. (She also suspected that the back might have the specific blend of tea that she was looking for.) Her eyes widened a little when she caught sight of familiar shocking blond hair, and the white hair of Narcissa Malfoy. Although the woman with them was a complete mystery. The trio hadn't seen her, and Cyn turned her attention to the tea bags hanging from the walls, her brows furrowing as she tried to find the blend she wanted.

"Well who is this?" a reedy voice asked. The pitch of it was high and sounded just a little bit insane.

Cyn's eyes widened as a thin, bony hand clasped on her shoulder and spun her around. The witch in front of her obviously wasn't sane, given the crazy gleam in her eyes. The wildly curly hair didn't help matters.

"Cyn," Draco breathed, his molten eyes meeting her own, and Cyn relaxed a little when Narcissa pulled the woman back with a whispered hiss of, " _Bellatrix"_. "What are you doing in Diagon Alley?"

Cyn spun back around her voice tense as she replied, "I got into a disagreement with my parents. So I decided I needed to buy tea."

Draco hummed, moving over to her as Narcissa talked in low, indecipherable tones behind them to Bellatrix. "You decided you needed to buy tea?" His voice was thick with disbelief.

"Yes," Cyn said primly, stretching up on her toes and grabbing a peppermint flavored blend of tea. She spun around eyeing Draco. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes," Draco answered, staring at her with both brows raised. "You don't even like tea."

"I don't _dislike_ it," Cyn retorted.

"You hate it," Draco pointed out.

"Maybe I do," Cyn swiftly answered. "If you must know I'm buying it, as a means to apologize to my mother."

"Are they flirting?" Bellatrix's voice pierced the silence that had suddenly overtaken the duo, and Cyn felt her cheeks flare with heat. Embarrassment was on Draco's face, and she couldn't miss the slight flush that also appeared on his face. "They're flirting aren't they, Cissy?" A pause then. "Cissy?"  
"Should have taken her home a long time ago," Draco muttered as his mother guided Bellatrix out to the street, while the dark-haired witch attempted to catch a glimpse of Draco and Cyn.

Cyn just smiled as she headed to the counter to purchase the tea. He hadn't denied that they were flirting, in fact he hadn't even really acknowledged at all. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But it wasn't like she wanted him to acknowledge that they were flirting, because they hadn't been. Right? Did she want them to have been flirting? She nearly dropped the tea when that answer was a resounding yes. _Merlin, she liked Draco Malfoy,_ Cyn realized. Cyn took a deep breath, momentarily dismissing those thoughts as she followed Draco outside to the streets of Diagon Alley.

"What was the fight about?" Draco asked, curiously tucking his hands into the pockets of his jackets.

"Something stupid," Cyn said dismissively. "It's not even worth talking about anymore."

Draco hummed, eyeing her for a few moments. "Yet you felt the need to go buy tea to apologize for it."

"Someone has to be the bigger person, even though I wasn't wrong," Cyn huffed. She eyed Draco, "And I'm not telling you what the fight was about. It's not important."

"Liar," Draco whispered under his breath and Cyn glared at him.

"I don't need your attitude right now," she huffed.

"Don't be so touchy then, Winters," Draco snarled, looking irritated with her.

"Sorry," she apologized after a few moments. "What are you doing in Diagon Alley?"

"Mother was buying tea," he said with a roll of her eyes. "Aunt Bellatrix wanted to get out of the house."

"Bellatrix," Cyn whispered, missing the nervousness that flashed across Draco's face. "Wasn't she in Azkaban?"

"Yes I was, and I'll have you know that it isn't any of your business!" That high reedy voice answered for Draco who winced and grabbed Cyn's wrist, pulling her out of the way as Bellatrix lunged forward. "Are you a pureblood? I've never seen you before."

"Mother," Draco hissed, staring at Narcissa and hoping that she would step in.

"Not that it's any of your business but yes I am," Cyn snapped, ignoring the warning look that Draco gave her. "Cynthia Winters, and I am woefully unhappy to meet you." Ignoring Bellatrix's squawk, she spun around to face Draco her face flushing when she noticed how close they were standing. "I have to go. It was nice seeing you though, Draco."

She tugged her wrist out of Draco's grip, and before she could lose the split second confidence that she somehow had, she stretched up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to Draco's cheek before skittering back a few steps. She felt gratified when his face lit up with a blush that surely mirrored the one on her face and then spun on her heel, Disapparating away.

"I like her," Bellatrix cackled.

"Oh shut up," Draco growled, glaring at his aunt. "She doesn't even like you."

 _She likes me,_ but the thought went unsaid.


End file.
